New Delhi: India and Pakistan have taken reciprocal measures, including the suspension of bilateral pacts and the closure of the only legally operating land border, following an attack in Jammu and Kashmir that resulted in the deaths of 26 people.
According to Anadolu Agency, New Delhi on Wednesday suspended its decades-old Indus Waters Treaty, under which the two nuclear-armed neighbors regulate the water share of six rivers on the Indus Basin. In response, Islamabad labeled the move 'reckless' and warned that any attempt by India to divert or stop water to Pakistan would be regarded as an 'act of war.'
The incident involved unidentified gunmen who killed 26 people, including 25 tourists, mainly Indians, and one local resident, in Indian-administered Kashmir's Pahalgam on Tuesday. Following the attack, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security, after which New Delhi announced its unprecedented decision to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty.
In addition to this, India expelled Pakistani military advisers stationed at Islamabad's diplomatic mission in New Delhi and reduced the number of Pakistani diplomatic staff. Visas issued to Pakistani citizens under the regional SAARC framework were also suspended. On Thursday, New Delhi declared that visa services to Pakistan across all domains would be suspended, urging Indian citizens visiting its western neighbor to return home "at the earliest." Furthermore, New Delhi closed the only operating land border at Wagah-Attari with Pakistan.
In retaliation, Pakistan underscored on Thursday that there was no provision to unilaterally suspend the water-sharing pact, which was mediated by the World Bank and signed in September 1960. However, Islamabad's most significant step was to suspend the Simla Agreement, a bilateral pact signed in 1972 that promotes bilateral dispute resolution and respect for the Line of Control in the disputed Kashmir region.
Following a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif with the National Security Committee, which included all service chiefs, Islamabad mirrored New Delhi's actions by expelling Indian defense attaches and reducing diplomatic staff at the Indian mission in the Pakistani capital. Pakistan also closed the border on its side of the Attari-Wagah crossing, suspended all bilateral trade, and halted any third-party business through Pakistan.
Additionally, Islamabad suspended visa services to all Indian nationals under the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme, with the exception of Sikh religious pilgrims, and closed its airspace for all Indian-owned or Indian-operated aircraft.