New Delhi, Apr 24 (V7N)- India has cancelled the SAARC Visa Waiver Program for Pakistani citizens and revoked the decades-old Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan following a deadly militant attack on tourists in Pahalgam, located in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir. The assault, which occurred on Tuesday, claimed at least 26 lives, most of them civilians and tourists.

In an emergency Cabinet Committee on Security meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, New Delhi accused Pakistan of backing militant groups and declared that the measures will remain in force until Islamabad stops supporting terrorism.

Visa Program Cancelled, Pakistanis Ordered to Leave

Indian Foreign Ministry Secretary Vikram Misri announced that Pakistani nationals will no longer be eligible for entry into India under the SAARC Visa Waiver Program, which previously facilitated easier travel for diplomats and officials among South Asian nations.

“All existing visas issued under this program to Pakistani citizens are hereby cancelled,” said Misri.
“Pakistani nationals currently in India under this visa category have been ordered to leave the country within 48 hours.”

Additionally, the Attari land border post, a key crossing point between the two countries, will be closed indefinitely, he added.

New Delhi also escalated diplomatic tensions by expelling Pakistani defence officials from its High Commission in New Delhi, labeling them as “undesirable elements.” The officials have been given seven days to leave India. In a reciprocal step, India will withdraw its own defence officials from its High Commission in Islamabad.

India has further instructed the Pakistani diplomatic mission in New Delhi to reduce its staff from 55 to 30 personnel by May 1, and will implement a reciprocal reduction in Islamabad.

In a historic and highly consequential move, India also scrapped the Indus Waters Treaty, a 1960 agreement brokered by the World Bank to manage river water sharing between the two countries. The treaty had long survived multiple wars and tensions.

“India cannot be expected to uphold treaties while its citizens are being slaughtered,” an unnamed official from the Indian Ministry of External Affairs was quoted as saying in Indian media reports.

The militant outfit The Resistance Front (TRF)—widely believed to be a proxy of Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistan-based terrorist organization—has claimed responsibility for the Pahalgam massacre. The group has been active in the Kashmir valley and has previously carried out several attacks targeting civilians and security forces.

This latest escalation signals a sharp deterioration in Indo-Pakistani relations, with diplomatic and security consequences likely to ripple across the South Asian region.

END/MSS/AJ