In accordance with increased tensions with Pakistan, the Central Government has authorized the Chief of Army Staff to call up Territorial Army members. This step, taken pursuant to Rule 33 of the Territorial Army Rules, 1948, is directed towards strengthening the Indian Army’s presence in all key command zones.
As per a ministry statement of Defence, the mobilisation will cover personnel from 32 current Territorial Army Infantry Battalions. They will be deployed in critical areas of operation including the Southern, Eastern, Western, Central, Northern, and South Western Commands. Further deployment will also take place to the Andaman and Nicobar Command and the Army Training Command (ARTRAC).
The Territorial Army is a reserve force to the regular Army. It is made up of volunteers who receive military training and are mobilized in times of national emergencies or to support internal security operations.
India-Pakistan tensions have drastically risen after Indian troops launched early Wednesday missile attacks on nine Pakistani terror targets and PoK. Targets included striking the Jaish-e-Mohammad complex at Bahawalpur and the Lashkar-e-Taiba compound at Muridke. These strikes came in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that resulted in the killing of 26 civilians.
During the evening of May 7-8, the Indian military effectively intercepted and neutralized Pakistan’s large-scale drone and missile attack against several Indian military facilities in the Northern and Western sectors. Particularly, an Air Defence system based in Lahore was also destroyed.
The Pakistani aggression was a retaliatory action to India’s “Operation Sindoor” of May 7. During this operation, India carried out missile attacks on nine targets in Pakistan and PoK, targeting terrorist infrastructure belonging to outfits such as Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad. The operation was an immediate response to the April 22 fatal attack in Pahalgam.
