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Centre authorises Army Chief to call up Territorial Army amid India-Pak tensions
The Territorial Army, known for its role as a secondary force to the regular Army, comprises volunteers who receive military training for national emergencies.
The Central Government has authorized the Chief of the Army Staff to call upon members of the Territorial Army as tensions with Pakistan rise. The decision, taken under the powers conferred by Rule 33 of the Territorial Army Rule, 1948, seeks to supplement and support the Indian Army’s regular forces across multiple commands.
The Ministry of Defence announced that the embodiment will draw from the existing 32 Territorial Army Infantry Battalions, with the selected units to be deployed across various key military zones including the Southern, Eastern, Western, Central, Northern, and South Western Commands, as well as the Andaman and Nicobar Command and the Army Training Command (ARTRAC).
The Territorial Army, known for its role as a secondary force to the regular Army, comprises volunteers who receive military training for national emergencies and internal security duties.
Tensions have escalated between the two neighbouring countries after Indian armed forces carried out missile strikes early on Wednesday on nine terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), including the Jaish-e-Mohammad stronghold of Bahawalpur and Lashkar-e-Taiba's base in Muridke, in retaliation for the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam.
The Indian Armed Forces successfully neutralised Pakistan military's attempts of a large-scale drone and missile attack on multiple Indian military installations across Northern and Western India during the night of May 7-8 and an Air Defence system at Lahore was neutralised.
The Pakistani attack followed India's "Operation Sindoor" on May 7, wherein Indian forces conducted missile strikes on nine locations in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Jammu and Kashmir. India said that these strikes targeted terrorist infrastructure linked to groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed, in retaliation for an April 22 terrorist attack in Pahalgam that killed 26 civilians.
