Pakistan on Thursday shut its airspace to all Indian airlines and suspended all trade with India, including through third countries, and downgraded diplomatic relations in response to a slew of punitive measures announced by New Delhi over the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people on Tuesday.
Most of the steps announced by Pakistan after a meeting of the National Security Committee chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Islamabad were tit-for-tat responses to measures announced by India on Wednesday. Pakistan rejected India’s decision to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 and said any stopping or diversion of the flow of water belonging to Pakistan under the pact will be seen as an “act of war” and responded to with “full force”.
India’s punitive measures, including the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, closing of the only operational land border crossing and expulsion of Pakistani military attaches, were decided by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) a day after terrorists gunned down the tourists in a picturesque meadow, marking the worst attack on civilians in Jammu and Kashmir in nearly two decades.
A statement from the Pakistan Prime Minister’s Office said the country’s “airspace will be closed with immediate effect for all Indian owned or Indian operated airlines”, and that trade with India, including to and from any third country through Pakistan, will be suspended forthwith.
While rejecting India’s suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty on the grounds that the pact has no provision for unilateral suspension, the statement described water as a “vital national interest” and said, “Any attempt to stop or divert the flow of water belonging to Pakistan as per the Indus Waters Treaty, and the usurpation of the rights of lower riparian will be considered as an Act of War and responded with full force across the complete spectrum of National Power.”
Pakistan also said it will “exercise the right to hold all bilateral agreements with India including but not limited to Simla Agreement in abeyance”, till India desists from “fomenting terrorism inside Pakistan; trans-national killings; and non-adherence to international law and UN Resolutions on Kashmir”.
In response to India’s expulsion of three Pakistani military attaches, Pakistan declared the Indian defence, naval and air advisors in Islamabad persona non grata and directed them to leave Pakistan no later than April 30. These posts were annulled, and the support staff of the advisors were also expelled.
Pakistan said the strength of the Indian high commission in Islamabad will be reduced to 30 from April 30 and that the Wagah border post will be closed. All cross-border transit from India through this route will be suspended and Indians who crossed via this post should return by April 30.
The Pakistani side also suspended all visas issued to Indians under the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme (SVES), with the exception of Sikh pilgrims. Indians in Pakistan with such visas were asked to leave within 48 hours.
“The National Security Committee underscored that Pakistan and its Armed Forces remain fully capable and prepared to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity against any misadventure, as clearly demonstrated by its measured yet resolute response to India’s reckless incursion in February 2019,” the statement said, referring to tit-for-tat air strikes carried out by the two sides after the Pulwama suicide bombing that killed 40 Indian troops in 2019.
The statement described India’s punitive measures as “unilateral, unjust, politically motivated, extremely irresponsible and devoid of legal merit” and contended that Kashmir “remains an unresolved dispute”. The statement raked up India’s abrogation of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood, persecution of minorities, and the passage of Waqf (Amendment) Act while also condemning all forms of terrorism.
“In the absence of any credible investigation and verifiable evidence, attempts to link the Pahalgam attack with Pakistan are frivolous, devoid of rationality and defeat logic,” the statement said.
Pakistan also claimed it had “proof of Indian-sponsored terrorism”, and the National Security Committee “deplored the implicit threat” in India’s statement on punitive measures on Wednesday. “Any threat to Pakistan’s sovereignty and to the security of its people will be met with firm reciprocal measures in all domains,” the statement said.