SRINAGAR, INDIA >> India and Pakistan cancelled visas for their nationals to each other’s countries and Islamabad warned New Delhi for suspending a water-sharing treaty Thursday.
The moves came after India blamed Pakistan for a deadly attack by gunmen that killed 26 people in disputed Kashmir.
India said all visas issued to Pakistani nationals will be revoked with effect from Sunday, adding that all Pakistanis currently in India must leave before their visas expire based on the revised timeline.
The country also announced other measures, including cutting the number of diplomatic staff, closing the only functional land border crossing between the countries and suspending a crucial water-sharing agreement.
In retaliation, Pakistan closed its airspace for all Indian-owned or Indian operated airlines, and suspended all trade with India, including to and from any third country.
Tuesday’s attack in Kashmir was the worst assault in years, targeting civilians in the restive region that has seen an anti-India rebellion for more than three decades.
Shock and outrage
The incident shocked and outraged Indians, prompting calls for action against their country’s archenemy, Pakistan. The Indian government said the attack had “cross-border” links to Pakistan, without publicly producing any evidence to support that claim. Pakistan has denied any connection to the attack, which was claimed by a previously unknown militant group calling itself the Kashmir Resistance.
Pakistan’s National Security Committee condemned India’s “belligerent measures.”
It said that while Pakistan remained committed to peace, it would never allow anyone to “transgress its sovereignty, security, dignity and inalienable rights.”
Government ministers on both sides have hinted that the dispute could escalate to military action.
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar told local Dunya News TV channel that “any kinetic step by India will see a tit-for-tat kinetic response.”
Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh pledged Wednesday to “not only trace those who perpetrated the attack but also trace those who conspired to commit this nefarious act on our soil,” and hinted at the possibility of military strikes.
India and Pakistan each administer a part of Kashmir, but both claim the territory in its entirety. New Delhi describes all militancy in Kashmir as Pakistan-backed terrorism.
Pakistan denies this, and many Muslim Kashmiris consider the fighters to be part of a home-grown freedom struggle.
Domestic pressures on both sides
The killings have put pressure on Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government to respond aggressively.
“India will identify, track and punish every terrorist, their handlers and their backers,” Modi told a rally Thursday. “We will pursue them to the ends of the earth,” he warned.
His government announced a series of diplomatic actions against Islamabad while hinting at plans for more punishment.
India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri announced Wednesday that a number of Pakistani diplomats were asked to leave New Delhi and Indian diplomats were recalled from Pakistan. Diplomatic missions in both countries will reduce their staff from 55 to 30 as of May 1, and the only functional land border crossing between them would be closed.
India’s foreign ministry advised Indians citizens not to travel to Pakistan and asked those currently there to return.
India also suspended a landmark water-sharing treaty that has survived two wars between the countries, in 1965 and 1971, and a major border skirmish in 1999.
The Indus Water Treaty, brokered by the World Bank in 1960, allows for sharing the waters of a river system that is a lifeline for both countries, particularly for Pakistan’s agriculture.