New Delhi, April 23— India on Wednesday announced a series of major diplomatic and security steps in response to the recent terror attack in Pahalgam, including suspending the Indus Waters Treaty and closing the Attari border.
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said the decisions were taken by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) “recognising the seriousness of this terrorist attack.”
Effective immediately, the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 has been placed in abeyance “until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism,” Misri stated.
The integrated checkpost at Attari has also been shut. However, individuals who crossed into India with valid documents may return via that route before May 1, 2025.
Further, Pakistani nationals will no longer be allowed entry into India under the SAARC visa exemption scheme. “All SPES visas issued to Pakistani nationals are deemed cancelled,” Misri announced, adding that anyone currently in India on such a visa has 48 hours to leave.
India has also declared the Defence, Military, Naval, and Air Advisors posted at the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi as persona non grata, requiring them to leave the country within a week.
In a reciprocal move, India will withdraw its Defence, Navy, and Air advisors from the Indian High Commission in Islamabad. “These positions are now deemed annulled,” the Foreign Secretary confirmed.
The measures mark a sharp escalation in diplomatic hostilities between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.
