Relations deteriorate to a new low after deadly Pahalgam attack claims 26 lives

The already-frosty ties between neighboring India and Pakistan have nosedived to a new low after the religiously targeted Islamic terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, in which 26 tourists, including one foreign national, were shot dead last month.

The strained India-Pakistan ties have deteriorated further after the recent terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, where 26 civilians were killed in a religiously motivated terrorist attack with “cross-border linkages” to Pakistan.

Comprehensive breakdown of retaliatory actions

Diplomatic warnings and threats

After one of the worst terror attacks on civilians in Jammu and Kashmir in decades, India has taken a slew of measures, mostly diplomatic and administrative, so far.

New Delhi has also pledged to “hunt down” terrorists and their backers to the “ends of the Earth” and punish them “beyond imagination,” suggesting a likely covert, kinetic, or military response to follow at a “time and place of choosing.”

To this, Pakistan, which has been practicing “cross-border terror” and has a history of financing and fostering terrorists in the country, as well as regions under its illegal occupation, has responded with whatever Islamabad and Rawalpindi (military headquarters) could muster up.

The terror attack in Kashmir, in which 26 civilians were killed after being asked to prove their allegiance to Islam, came days after an inflammatory and communal speech by Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir.

The terror attack was claimed by The Resistance Front, a shadow arm of the globally banned Pakistani terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba, or LeT.

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Water treaty suspension

India’s first announcement after the attack, with stern diplomatic measures against Pakistan, was to put the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty in “abeyance” till such time that “Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism.”

India’s decision to suspend the over six-decade-old water-sharing treaty, which has survived three wars—1965, 1971, and 1999 – reflects the depths of New Delhi’s frustration with Islamabad over Pakistan’s use of terrorism as an “instrument of state policy.”

Under the agreement, waters of the Indus river and its tributaries – Sutlej, Beas, Ravi, Chenab, and Jhelum—are to be shared between India and Pakistan, wherein water from the eastern three rivers would be used by India, while waters of the western three rivers would be shared with Pakistan. Technically, India, being the upper riparian state, has rights over all six rivers, but on friendly terms, India had agreed to share the waters with Pakistan, where the natural resource is scarce. That is now put on hold indefinitely.

Pakistan, which is heavily dependent on water for its hydropower and irrigation, has said any attempt to stop or divert its flow will be considered an “act of war.”

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Travel restrictions

Land border closures

India and Pakistan are divided along the International Border (IB). India is also separated from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir by the Line of Control, or LOC. After the terror attack in Pahalgam, India announced that it would close all posts on the international border, which includes the Attari-Wagah border. Pakistan responded with a similar announcement. India also ordered all Pakistani nationals to return via the checkpost within a specified time. Pakistan did the same. Bus and train services were already stopped years ago, and hence, the status quo remains.

Airspace and maritime bans

In its response, Pakistan announced that it is closing its airspace to all flights owned, leased, or operated by Indian carriers. India reciprocated the move. The current ban for airlines is till May 24 but may likely be extended by both countries closer to the date.

Both nations have also barred all ships bearing the other’s flag from visiting their ports and said that their own ships will no longer visit the other’s ports. With this, all modes of travel to either nation have been blocked by the other.

Visa cancellations

India has also cancelled almost all visas issued to Pakistanis and has set a deadline for them to return to their country. This includes medical visas for patients undergoing treatment in India. Both nations have also ended all visas issued to each other under the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme, or SVES. These were issued to diplomats, artists, actors, and sportspeople, among select other categories of individuals.

Diplomatic expulsions

India had ordered the expulsion of several Pakistan High Commission staff, including the defense advisers and attaches stationed there, declaring them “persona non grata” and giving them a one-week deadline to leave the country.

India also announced that it will be withdrawing its own defense, navy, and air advisers from the Indian High Commission in Islamabad. “These posts in the respective High Commissions are deemed annulled with immediate effect,” New Delhi said, adding that the support staff of the service advisers will also be withdrawn from both High Commissions “with immediate effect”.

India also said that “The overall strength of the High Commissions will be brought down to 30 from the present 55 through further reductions, to be effected by 01 May 2025.”

Left with no other option, Pakistan responded with an identical announcement. Islamabad also said that “Pakistan shall exercise the right to hold all bilateral agreements with India, including but not limited to the Shimla Agreement, in abeyance”—an announcement that has the potential to backfire on Pakistan, as the Simla Agreement is the pact that gives the Line of Control its meaning.

Trade suspension

In its announcement, Islamabad said, “All trade with India, including to and from any third country through Pakistan, is suspended forthwith.” With negligible imports of less than 0.5 million dollars last year, India has chosen not to respond to this, as it makes no impact on New Delhi.

Communications cutoff

India has indefinitely suspended all forms of traditional communication with Pakistan. All categories of inbound mail and parcels from Pakistan through air and surface routes are now banned.

Financial pressures

Cash-strapped Pakistan’s economy almost entirely depends on loans from international financial institutions and other nations that bail it out from time to time. India is now looking at terror-financing watchdog FATF to impose strict sanctions against Pakistan, possibly blacklisting the nation. New Delhi has also asked the International Monetary Fund to review its loans to Pakistan, whose recent borrowings from the global lender include a $7 billion loan secured in September, followed by a $1.3 billion climate resilience loan in March.

Sporting relations freeze

India has already banned direct sporting ties with Pakistan for several years now, and Pakistani athletes cannot take part in any domestic leagues in India, like the IPL. India has also told its athletes not to travel to Pakistan or take part in any sporting event in that nation due to security concerns.

Besides cricket, this applies to all other sports too. After the recent Pahalgam terror attack, India’s Olympic javelin gold medalist Neeraj Chopra has rescinded his invitation to Pakistani rival Arshad Nadeem to attend his meet in Bengaluru this month. “It is completely out of the question,” after the Kashmir attack, Mr. Chopra said.

He had earlier invited Paris Olympics champion Nadeem to the meet – titled Neeraj Chopra Classic – which will bring the world’s top throwers together from May 24.

Social media restrictions

India has banned several Pakistani YouTube channels, including those of media outlets such as Dawn News as well as channels of sportspersons such as former cricketer Shoaib Akhtar. New Delhi has also blocked social media accounts of some popular Pakistani personalities, including actors Hania Aamir, Fawad Khan, and Mahira Khan, whose Instagram accounts have been blocked. Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s X account is also no longer visible in India.

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