The historic Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 has been suspended by India, among other punitive measures against Pakistan, following the horrific terrorist attack on tourists in Pahalgam, Kashmir, on Tuesday.
In response to the unprecedented terror attack — Islamic terrorists selectively gunned down dozens of Hindu tourists after finding out their religion — India on Wednesday downgraded diplomatic ties with Pakistan.
New Delhi announced a raft of measures, including expulsion of Pakistani military attaches; suspension of the Indus Water Treaty of 1960; and immediate shutting down of the Attari land-transit post, in view of the cross-border links to the horrific Pahalgam terror attack.
A day after the brazen attack, the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, firmed up five specific retaliatory measures against Pakistan, directed the security forces to maintain “high vigil” and vowed to bring the perpetrators of the crime to justice.
At a late evening media briefing, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, announcing the decisions, said that the overall strength of the Pakistani and Indian high commissions will be brought down to 30 from the present 55 through further reductions, to be effected by May 1.
The foreign secretary said that Pakistani nationals would not be permitted to travel to India under the SAARC visa exemption scheme (SVES) and any Pakistani national currently in India under it SVES visa had 48 hours to leave India.
Misri said that the cross-border linkages to the Pahalgam attack were “brought out” in a briefing to the CCS, following which it decided to take the measures against Pakistan.
The new retaliatory actions shut down the few existing diplomatic mechanisms between the two sides, taking bilateral relations to yet another new low.
The foreign secretary, announcing the five retaliatory measures, said that “the defence, military, naval and air advisers in the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi are declared persona non grata” and had a week to leave India.
India would withdraw its own defence, navy and air advisers from the Indian High Commission in Islamabad, he said.
“These posts in the respective high commissions are deemed annulled. Five support staff of the service advisers will also be withdrawn from both high commissions,” he said.
The CCS was briefed in detail on the attack, in which 25 Indians and a Nepali citizen were killed, said the foreign secretary, who attended the meeting along with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval.
The foreign secretary said that the CCS resolved that the perpetrators of the Pahalgam attack would be brought to justice and their sponsors held to account.
Some hours before the CCS meeting, Defence Minister Singh said that people responsible for the “cowardly terrorist attack” on innocent citizens would soon get a befitting reply.
Rajnath Singh said that India would not only hunt down those who had perpetrated the attack but it would also trace the people who had conspired to carry out the nefarious act on the Indian soil while “sitting behind the scenes”.
The CCS meeting, which lasted for two-and-a-half hours, decided to close the Integrated Check Post at Attari with immediate effect. It is the only operational land border crossing between India and Pakistan.
The CCS decided that the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 would be held in abeyance with immediate effect, until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjured its support for cross-border terrorism, he said.
The Indus Waters Treaty, brokered by the World Bank to share the waters of cross-border rivers, is considered to be the most durable pact between the two sides.
On closing of the Integrated Check Post at Attari, Misri said that those who had crossed over with valid endorsements could return through that route before May 1.
Misri said, “Strong expressions of support and solidarity have been received from many governments around the world, which have unequivocally condemned this terror attack.”
He said, “It was noted that this attack came in the wake of the successful holding of elections in the Union Territory (Jammu and Kashmir) and its steady progress towards economic growth and development.”
