Patiala (Punjab) [India], May 9 (ANI): As India-Pakistan tensions escalated, retired Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), Gurinder Singh Dhillon, on Thursday praised the Indian armed forces for their strong response to cross-border terrorism and said the action against terror camps was 'commendable.'

'First of all, the action being taken by Indian armed forces is commendable. We are with border states... there was only one way to fight the cross-border terrorism, that was to destroy the sites where terrorists were they get trained. India targeted 9 sites of terrorists, and it was a great action. Pakistan is desperately putting efforts to retaliate...,' said Dhillon while speaking to ANI.

He also urged residents of border areas to remain calm and expressed full confidence in India's security forces.

'People in border areas shouldn't panic and stand by the security forces and help them... Pakistan doesn't have such power, we have taken action against terrorists, not them. By retaliating, they have proved what India has been saying all along that they nurture terrorism...' he added.

Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Amit Shah chaired a high-level meeting in Delhi to review border security and airport protection. The meeting began at 12:30 pm and included top officials such as the Director General of BSF and CISF and senior officers from the Ministry of Home Affairs.

The Punjab government is also stepping up its preparedness by sending cabinet ministers to border districts.

According to a statement from the Chief Minister's Office (CMO), a high-level review of emergency services is set to take place today, with ten cabinet ministers scheduled to visit border areas immediately after a cabinet meeting.

'Punjab government is preparing to deal with the situation. Today, the ministers will review the emergency services in the border districts. Will inspect hospitals, fire stations, Will inspect the availability of ration and emergency services, Cabinet ministers will reach the border districts, immediately after the cabinet meeting, 10 ministers will leave for the border areas,' read the statement from CMO.

'Ministers Lal Chand Kataruchakk and Dr. Ravjot Singh will go to Gurdaspur. Ministers Kuldeep Dhaliwal and Mohinder Bhagat will take charge of Amritsar,' it added further.

Amid all this, the District Public Relations Officer (DPRO) in Amritsar has urged all residents to stay indoors, keep their lights turned off, and draw their curtains for safety.'All citizens are requested to stay indoors and away from the windows, keep lights turned off, and draw the window curtains. There is no need to panic. A siren will blow now, and we will pass the message again once it is clear,' the Amritsar DPRO said.

The DPRO also lauded the armed forces and appealed to the public to cooperate. 'Our armed forces are on the job, and we need to support them by staying indoors. There is no need to panic,' the official added.

This comes after the escalating tensions between India and Pakistan.

Earlier, Defence sources said the Indian Army shot down two Pakistani drones in the Naushera sector of Jammu and Kashmir. The drones were intercepted during a heavy exchange of artillery fire between Indian and Pakistani forces. (ANI)