NEW DELHI/ISLAMABAD: India and Pakistan on Thursday announced tit-for-tat punitive measures plunging diplomatic relations into a fresh and dangerous low, following a deadly militant attack in Pahalgam in South Kashmir that killed 26 tourists.
In its strongest move yet, India revoked all existing visas issued to Pakistani nationals — including those granted for medical treatment — effective from April 27.
Pakistani citizens already in India have been instructed to leave before their visa expiry dates. In addition, Indian citizens have been strongly advised to avoid travelling to Pakistan, while those already there are being urged to return immediately.
Earlier, the Ministry of External Affairs also invalidated all visas issued under the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme (SVES) for Pakistani citizens, giving them a 48-hour window to exit the country.
These moves follow an earlier wave of retaliatory steps by India, including suspending the Indus Waters Treaty, a water sharing agreement, closing the Attari-Wagah border crossing, and expelling Pakistani defence advisors.
Analysts see these as part of a calculated and comprehensive diplomatic offensive aimed at isolating Pakistan internationally.
Pakistan’s response
Pakistan retaliated with its own set of measures.
The National Security Committee, which met under Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, called India’s actions an unjustified attempt to deflect blame without evidence.
Expressing sorrow for the civilian lives lost in Pahalgam, the committee declared several retaliatory steps.
Pakistan ordered the immediate expulsion of India’s defence, naval, and air advisors from the Indian High Commission in Islamabad, with a deadline to leave by April 30.
Additionally, the Indian diplomatic staff in Islamabad is being reduced to 30 members, with all military advisory posts to be annulled.
Pakistan also announced that shut its airspace to all Indian-owned or Indian-operated aircraft.
This move will force west-bound Indian flights to take longer, more circuitous routes.
Islamabad also suspended all bilateral trade with India, including third-country shipments routed through Pakistan.
The Wagah border has been closed to transit trade — a blow to Indian goods destined for Afghanistan.
Reacting to India’s unilateral suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty — a 74-year-old water-sharing agreement — Pakistan issued a sharp warning: any attempt by India to divert or block water legally allocated to Pakistan would be considered an “act of war.”
Islamabad added it would respond “with full force” if India acted on this front.
More worryingly, Pakistan has indicated it may place all bilateral agreements with India in abeyance — including the historic 1972 Simla Agreement.
Families flee, voices of peace
As high-level diplomatic blows were exchanged, the human toll was also felt. Several Pakistani families began returning home via the Attari-Wagah land crossing on Thursday.
“We had a 45-day visa, but we’re going back early,” said Shaikh Fazal Ahmad, a Pakistani tourist from Karachi. On the Pahalgam attack, he reflected: “Whoever did this was wrong. We want peace — not hatred — between the two countries.”
His sentiments echo a growing frustration on both sides of the border, where civilians often pay the price of state-level hostilities.
While the Indian government has pointed fingers at Pakistan, a growing chorus within India is turning its focus inward. According to preliminary findings reported by the Deccan Chronicle, there were serious intelligence and deployment lapses in the lead-up to the Pahalgam attack.
The Unified Command — comprising top army, police, and intelligence officials under the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir — had declared the region “normal” and failed to conduct updated threat assessments, even as civilian footfall surged at the tourist site.
Security deployment was alarmingly thin. One of the two Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) companies stationed at Baisaran, the exact site of the attack, had reportedly been reassigned earlier this year. The remaining Quick Action Team took over an hour to reach the area. “Tourist routes had become predictable soft targets,” admitted a security official.
At the funeral of Shailesh Kalathiya, a bank manager killed in the attack, his grieving widow, Shital Kalathiya, publicly confronted Union Minister C.R. Paatil in a moment that has since gone viral on social media.
“There was not a single military man at the tourist spot,” she said through tears.
“There were no medical facilities either. You defame Kashmir, but the problem is your government’s failure to provide security.”
Her words have struck a chord across platforms, with many Indians questioning how such a heavily contested and volatile region could have been left so vulnerable, and why intelligence agencies failed to act on clear warning signs.
With diplomatic, trade, air, and people-to-people ties collapsing under the weight of escalating rhetoric and reactionary policies, analysts warn the fallout may have long-lasting implications.
The Pahalgam attack has not only reignited long-standing animosities between two nuclear-armed nations but also exposed deep vulnerabilities in India’s internal security framework.
The ongoing blame game has left Kashmiris caught in the crossfire — both figuratively and literally — as they face increasing suspicion and vilification in India.
As the situation continues to deteriorate, experts caution that prolonged instability between the two nuclear armed neighbors could lead to serious humanitarian consequences and further entrench the region’s already complex and volatile geopolitics.
For now, peace remains elusive — as mistrust, nationalism, and unaddressed grievances dominate the discourse across South Asia.
India’s punitive measures
All visas for Pakistani nationals revoked, including medical visas (effective April 27).
Pakistani nationals in India ordered to leave before their visa expiry.
Indians advised against travel to Pakistan; those in Pakistan urged to return.
SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme (SVES) visas invalidated for Pakistanis; 48-hour deadline to leave.
Suspension of Indus Waters Treaty, a key water-sharing agreement since 1960.
Closure of Attari-Wagah border crossing for travel
Expulsion of Pakistani defence advisors stationed in India.
Pakistan’s counter-measures
Expulsion of Indian defence, naval, and air advisors from Islamabad by April 30.
Reduction of Indian diplomatic staff in Islamabad to 30 members from 55.
Annulment of Indian military advisory posts in the High Commission.
Pakistani airspace closed to all Indian-owned or operated airlines.
Suspension of bilateral and third-country trade, including Indian transit to Afghanistan.
Closure of Wagah border for trade, in response to India’s traveller ban.
SAARC elite visa stickers suspended for Indian citizens.
Indians in Pakistan ordered to leave within 48 hours (Sikh pilgrims exempted).
Threat to consider Indus Treaty suspension as an Act of War if water is diverted.
Warning to place all bilateral agreements “in abeyance”, including the Simla Agreement.
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