The Indian government has ordered all Pakistani nationals currently in the country to leave by 29 April, as tensions escalate following a deadly terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir earlier this week.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs confirmed that all visa services for Pakistani citizens have been suspended with immediate effect, and existing visas have been revoked. Diplomatic personnel posted in India are exempt from the order, though India had already ordered a reduction in Pakistan’s diplomatic staff on Wednesday.
The move follows Tuesday's mass shooting in Pahalgam valley, where 26 men — including one Nepalese national — were killed and at least 17 injured. It is the deadliest civilian attack in India since the 2008 Mumbai massacre. A relatively unknown militant outfit, Kashmir Resistance (also known as The Resistance Front), claimed responsibility for the assault, citing concerns over demographic changes in Kashmir.
Indian intelligence agencies say the group is a proxy for Pakistan-based terrorist organisations such as Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hizbul Mujahideen. Pakistan has denied any involvement and maintains it provides only moral and diplomatic support to the people of Kashmir.
In addition to expelling Pakistani citizens, India has suspended the six-decade-old Indus Waters Treaty, and closed the only official land border between the two nations. Pakistan’s government responded by calling India’s actions a form of “water warfare,” warning that any attempt to restrict its access to Indus River waters would be treated as an act of war.
Following a rare National Security Committee meeting, Pakistan expelled Indian defence, naval, and air attachés, and ordered the cancellation of visas for Indian nationals, except for Sikh pilgrims. It also announced it would close its borders and cancel trade and airspace access for Indian aircraft.
Modi Vows Action
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, speaking in Bihar, vowed to bring justice to the perpetrators.
"We will pursue them to the ends of the earth," he declared, without naming Pakistan directly. Authorities in Indian-administered Kashmir have released the identities of three suspected attackers, two of whom are believed to be Pakistani nationals. Rewards have been offered for information leading to their capture.
Rising Hostilities
The latest developments mark a sharp deterioration in already strained relations between the nuclear-armed neighbours. Diplomatic ties have been frosty since India revoked Kashmir’s special status in 2019, a move that led Pakistan to withdraw its envoy and halt high-level talks.
The suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty — brokered by the World Bank in 1960 — is a significant escalation. The treaty had survived multiple wars and political crises between the two nations and was widely regarded as a rare example of cooperation.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs confirmed that all visa services for Pakistani citizens have been suspended with immediate effect, and existing visas have been revoked. Diplomatic personnel posted in India are exempt from the order, though India had already ordered a reduction in Pakistan’s diplomatic staff on Wednesday.
The move follows Tuesday's mass shooting in Pahalgam valley, where 26 men — including one Nepalese national — were killed and at least 17 injured. It is the deadliest civilian attack in India since the 2008 Mumbai massacre. A relatively unknown militant outfit, Kashmir Resistance (also known as The Resistance Front), claimed responsibility for the assault, citing concerns over demographic changes in Kashmir.
Indian intelligence agencies say the group is a proxy for Pakistan-based terrorist organisations such as Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hizbul Mujahideen. Pakistan has denied any involvement and maintains it provides only moral and diplomatic support to the people of Kashmir.
In addition to expelling Pakistani citizens, India has suspended the six-decade-old Indus Waters Treaty, and closed the only official land border between the two nations. Pakistan’s government responded by calling India’s actions a form of “water warfare,” warning that any attempt to restrict its access to Indus River waters would be treated as an act of war.
Following a rare National Security Committee meeting, Pakistan expelled Indian defence, naval, and air attachés, and ordered the cancellation of visas for Indian nationals, except for Sikh pilgrims. It also announced it would close its borders and cancel trade and airspace access for Indian aircraft.
Modi Vows Action
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, speaking in Bihar, vowed to bring justice to the perpetrators.
"We will pursue them to the ends of the earth," he declared, without naming Pakistan directly. Authorities in Indian-administered Kashmir have released the identities of three suspected attackers, two of whom are believed to be Pakistani nationals. Rewards have been offered for information leading to their capture.
Rising Hostilities
The latest developments mark a sharp deterioration in already strained relations between the nuclear-armed neighbours. Diplomatic ties have been frosty since India revoked Kashmir’s special status in 2019, a move that led Pakistan to withdraw its envoy and halt high-level talks.
The suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty — brokered by the World Bank in 1960 — is a significant escalation. The treaty had survived multiple wars and political crises between the two nations and was widely regarded as a rare example of cooperation.
