Punjab border villages on alert after 'surgical strikes'

Villages along Punjab's border with Pakistan were put on high alert today after the Indian Army carried out surgical strikes on the LoC, reports the Times of India.

Schools in the border belt were ordered closed following the escalation of tension+ along the Line of Control (LOC) in Jammu and Kashmir, the sources said.

There were reports that the Punjab government, following directions from the union home ministry, could order evacuation of villages in a 10-km area along the border with Pakistan in Punjab.

READ ALSO: India says it carried out strikes on Kashmir border

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has called a meeting in this regard.

Punjab shares a 553-km border with Pakistan that is manned by the para-military Border Security Force (BSF).

Being a frontier state, Punjab has seen most action in both the wars with Pakistan in 1965 and 1971.