India on Thursday revoked all visas issued to Pakistani citizens and advised its nationals not to travel to Pakistan as part of the bouquet of punitive diplomatic measures over cross-border linkages to the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people.
The move came a day after India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960, shuttered the only operational land border crossing at Attari, and further downgraded diplomatic relations in response to the terror attack at a scenic meadow near Pahalgam town on April 22.
The external affairs ministry said Thursday’s announcements were a continuation of decisions made by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack. The Indian government has decided to “suspend visa services to Pakistani nationals with immediate effect”, the ministry said.
All valid visas issued to Pakistani nationals stand revoked from April 27, while medical visas issued to Pakistani nationals will be valid till April 29, the ministry said in a statement.
The ministry also clarified the revocation of visas will not apply to Long Term Visas already issued to Hindu Pakistani nationals, which will remain valid.
“All Pakistani nationals currently in India must leave India before the expiry of visas, as now amended,” the ministry said.
“Indian nationals are strongly advised to avoid travelling to Pakistan. Those Indian nationals currently in Pakistan are also advised to return to India at the earliest,” it said.
The exact number of Pakistanis holding valid Indian visas or the number of Indians currently in Pakistan could not immediately be ascertained.
The Indian side had earlier asked all Pakistanis who entered the country via the Attari land border to leave by May 1, and said Pakistani nationals would no longer be eligible for the Saarc Visa Exemption Scheme (SVES).
The terror strike at Pahalgam was the worst attack on civilians in Jammu and Kashmir in nearly two decades and the worst terrorist assault on civilians in India since the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.
Following a meeting of CCS that was briefed on cross-border linkages to the attack, the Indian government on Wednesday announced five punitive measures, including the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty till Pakistan ends its support for terrorism.
India closed the integrated check post at Attari on the border with Pakistan, currently the only operational land border crossing. It expelled Pakistan’s three military attaches and asked Pakistan to downsize the staff strength at its high commission in New Delhi from 55 to 30.
The top leadership of India, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, have hinted that more measures could follow. Modi said on Thursday that India will “identify, track and punish every terrorist, their handlers and their backers”. He added: “We will pursue them to the ends of the earth…Every effort will be made to ensure that justice is done.”