India’s Foreign Ministry said Pakistani nationals will not be allowed to travel to India under the SAARC visa exemption programme. Any visas previously issued under this scheme “are deemed cancelled” and any Pakistani national in India with one of these visas has 48 hours to leave.
India’s defence minister has pledged a swift response to those who carried out and planned the Pahalgam attack that killed 26 people, all men, in Indian-administered Kashmir.
Security forces are searching for the gunmen behind the attack – the disputed region’s worst attack on civilians in years.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who cut short a state visit to Saudi Arabia, decried the “heinous act” and pledged that the attackers “will be brought to justice”.
A little-known group, The Resistance Front, claimed responsibility for the attack in a social media message, expressing discontent that more than 85,000 “outsiders” had been settled in the region, spurring a “demographic change”.
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said, “In the briefing to the CCS, the cross-border linkages of the terrorist attack were brought out. It was noted that this attack came in the wake of the successful holding of elections in the Union Territory and its steady progress towards economic growth and development.”
He went on to say that “Recognising the seriousness of this terrorist attack, the CCS decided upon the following measures:”
The Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 will be held in abeyance with immediate effect, until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism.
The Integrated Check Post Attari-Wagah border will be closed with immediate effect. Those who have crossed over with valid endorsements may return through that route before 01 May 2025.
Pakistani nationals will not be permitted to travel to India under the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme (SVES) visas. Any SVES visas issued in the past to Pakistani nationals are deemed cancelled. Any Pakistani national currently in India under SVES visa has 48 hours to leave India.
The defence or military officials – Naval and air advisers in the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi are declared Persona Non Grata. They have a week to leave India. India will be withdrawing its own defence – navy, air advisers from the Indian High Commission in Islamabad. These posts in the respective High Commissions are deemed annulled with immediate effect. Five support staff of the service advisers will also be withdrawn from both High Commissions immediately.
The overall strength of the High Commissions will be brought down to 30 from the present 55 through further reductions, to be effected by 01 May 2025.
In addition to these, Mr Misri also announced that “The CCS reviewed the overall security situation and directed all forces to maintain high vigil. It resolved that the perpetrators of the attack will be brought to justice and their sponsors held to account. As with the recent extradition of Tahawwur Rana, India will be unrelenting in the pursuit of those who have committed acts of terror, or conspired to make them possible.”
Reacting to the decision to suspend the Indus treaty, Water Resources Minister CR Paatil said, “In the past too, an ultimatum was given to them (Pakistan) by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. Action was taken in the past, and this time too the perpetrators shall not be spared. As for the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, it has been a very good decision taken by the Cabinet.”
Under the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty governing six common rivers, India has the complete right over the waters of three rivers – Ravi, Beas and Sutlej, while Pakistan has the right over waters of Indus, Jhelum and Chenab.
The Indus Waters Treaty has been one of the rare long-standing treaties between India and Pakistan and has remained the single most successful example of cooperation between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.
The Resistance Front is an offshoot of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba.
A water supply problem will be a matter of grave concern for Pakistan. In recent years, experts have warned that Pakistan is already on the brink of an era of acute water shortage caused by a combination of factors – among them population growth, climate change, and poor water management.
In the past, when suspending the Indus treaty was being considered by India, Pakistan had said that a move to exit the treaty would be perceived in Islamabad as “an act of war.”