INDIA – In a swift and stern response to a deadly militant assault in Kashmir, India has summoned Pakistan’s senior-most diplomat in New Delhi, announcing a series of drastic steps to scale down bilateral relations. The diplomatic fallout follows the killing of 26 civilians at a popular tourist site in what is now considered the deadliest civilian attack in India in nearly 20 years.
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said on April 23 that there was clear cross-border involvement in the April 22 attack, prompting New Delhi to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty, a key water-sharing agreement brokered by the World Bank in 1960. The historic treaty, which had survived multiple wars, will now be held in abeyance, Misri confirmed.
India also announced it would shut down the only land trade route between the two nations, withdraw its defence personnel from the Islamabad mission, and reduce its diplomatic staff there from 55 to 30. In a reciprocal move, all Pakistani defence advisers in New Delhi have been declared persona non grata and given seven days to leave the country.
The Indian government has called for an all-party meeting to brief opposition leaders on the situation and the national response. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, addressing the crisis, signaled unity and resolve as tensions escalated with Islamabad.
Meanwhile, in Pakistan, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is convening a National Security Committee meeting to craft Islamabad’s official response, as confirmed by Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on social media platform X.
The militant attack is widely viewed as a blow to the Modi administration’s claims of normalcy and progress in Jammu and Kashmir, particularly after the revocation of the region’s special status in 2019. The development has reignited tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbors, whose diplomatic ties have remained frayed for years.