- The decision was taken at a crucial security meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi
- The Defence, Military, Naval, and Air Advisors in the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi are declared persona non grata
- The central government is likely to convene an all-party meeting chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on April 24
NE NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, APR 23
India on Wednesday announced a series of diplomatic measures against Pakistan after intelligence agencies claimed the neighbouring country’s role in the horrific terror attack at Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir.
The decisions were taken a crucial meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the evening.
Besides the prime minister, the Cabinet Committee on Security comprises Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
Sitharaman is on her way back from the United States after she cut short her official visit.
Prime Minister Modi returned early Wednesday from Saudi Arabia. He held a meeting at the airport soon after his arrival where he discussed the J&K terror attack with Jaishankar and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval. Foreign Secretary Vikram Mistry was also part of the meeting.
Earlier in the day, Amit Shah visited Baisaran in Pahalgam, the site where terrorists struck on Tuesday evening, as well as the hospital where some of the injured were being treated
Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh attended the meeting. After the CCS meet, a one-to-one meeting took place between PM Modi and Amit Shah.
In a hard-hitting move, New Delhi suspended the Indus Water Treaty with Pakistan. The treaty will be held in abeyance with immediate effect until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misry said in a short media briefing after the CCS meeting.
India has also decided to close the integrated checkpost at Attari with immediate effect. Those who have crossed over with valid endorsements may return through that route before May 1, 2025, Misry said.
Pakistani nationals will not be permitted to travel to India under the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme (SVES) visas. Any SVES visas issued in the past to Pakistani nationals are deemed cancelled. Any Pakistani national currently in India under SVES visa has 48 hours to leave India, said the foreign secretary.
The Defence, Military, Naval, and Air Advisors in the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi are declared persona non grata. They have been given a week’s time to leave India.
India will also withdraw its own Defence, Navy and Air advisors from the Indian High Commission in Islamabad. These posts in the respective High Commissions are deemed annulled, Misry said.
“The CCS was briefed in detail on the terrorist attack on 22 April 2025 in Pahalgam, in which 25 Indians and one Nepali citizen were killed. A number of others sustained injuries. The CCS condemned the attack in the strongest terms and expressed its deepest condolences to the families of the victims and hoped for the early recovery of the injured,” the foreign secretary said in his briefing.
Citing 26/11 key accused Tahawwur Rana’s extradition, Misri said: “Perpetrators of the attack will be brought to justice, India will be unrelenting in the pursuit of those who have committed terror acts.”
The government has vowed that the perpetrators of Pahalgam “will not be spared and brought to justice.” Meanwhile, the central government is likely to convene an all-party meeting chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on April 24, as per sources.
