NEW DELHI: India has suspended the Indus Water Treaty with Pakistan and announced the closure of the Attari check post for Pakistani nationals.
The decision was made during a cabinet meeting chaired by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Following the meeting, India also announced it would stop issuing visas to Pakistanis under the SAARC visa exemption scheme.
In a press conference, the Indian foreign ministry spokesperson said all existing visas issued to Pakistani nationals have been cancelled. Pakistanis currently in India have been asked to leave the country within 48 hours.
Indian citizens in Pakistan have been advised to return by May 1 through the Attari border crossing.
India has also declared all military, naval, and air advisers at the Pakistani High Commission as unwelcome. The Indian defence attaché in Pakistan is being recalled.
Furthermore, the Indian foreign ministry said the number of staff at its High Commission in Islamabad will be reduced from 55 to 30 by May 1.
Pakistani citizens will no longer be allowed to travel to India under the SAARC visa exemption program. Those already in India under this scheme must also leave within 48 hours.
India has taken these hasty decisions after an attack on tourists in occupied Kashmir a day earlier in which over 26 people were killed by gunmen.
