A day after the brutal killing of 26 tourists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, India has taken a series of strong diplomatic and strategic measures against Pakistan, holding it responsible for backing the terrorists involved.
The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), India’s apex body for national security decisions, convened urgently on Wednesday to approve the retaliatory actions, according to major Indian media outlets.
As per the decisions, India has put the decades-old Indus Water Treaty with Pakistan in abeyance, signaling a shift in long-standing bilateral water-sharing commitments.
Pakistani nationals will no longer be eligible for visas under the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme, effectively blocking their regional travel access, is another major decision CCS took in the meeting.
Pakistanis staying in India under the SAARC visa will have to leave within 48 hours and such visas Pakistanis are holding have been revoked.
Closure of the vital Atari-Wagah border crossing until further notice is another major decision. It served as a key channel for people-to-people and trade connectivity between the two hostile nations.
India will also pull back its staff from the High Commission in Islamabad, downgrading diplomatic engagement to the minimum level.
The Ministry of External Affairs stated that these moves were necessary to “protect Indian lives and sovereignty” and serve as a “clear message against cross-border terror.”
Announcing the measure, 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.”
A Pakistan-based military outfit, Lashkar-e-Taiba, is reported to have claimed responsibility of the Pahalgam terror attack on Tuesday.