Govt suspends Indus treaty, expels Pak advisors, cancels visas, closes Attari

This full-scale diplomatic retaliation by Delhi is the strongest since 2019 when the diplomatic strength was reduced by half from 110 to 55. Now it has been further reduced to 30. In 2019, the High Commissioners were withdrawn – Pakistan made the first move following the abrogation of Article 370, and India followed suit.

Briefing reporters Wednesday, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) met in the evening under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It was attended by Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Cabinet Secretary, and Secretaries of the ministries of Home, Defence, Finance and External Affairs.

“The CCS was briefed in detail about the terrorist attack on April 22 in Pahalgam, in which 25 Indians and one Nepali citizen were killed. A number of others sustained injuries. The CCS condemned the attack in the strongest terms and expressed its deepest condolences to the families of the victims and hoped for the early recovery of the injured,” he said.

“Strong expressions of support and solidarity have been received from many governments around the world, which have unequivocally condemned this terror attack. The CCS recorded its appreciation for such sentiments, which reflect zero tolerance for terrorism,” he said.

“In the briefing to the CCS, the cross-border linkages of the terrorist attack were brought out. It was noted that this attack came in the wake of the successful holding of elections in the Union Territory and its steady progress towards economic growth and development,” he said.

Recognising the seriousness of this terrorist attack, the CCS decided upon the following measures, Misri said, and listed five retaliatory steps.

First, “the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 will be held in abeyance with immediate effect, until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism”.

India had already initiated the process of scrapping the Indus Waters Treaty – it had survived three wars and terror attacks including the Mumbai 26/11 in 2008 and Pulwama in 2019 — in the last couple of years.

On August 30 last year, India had sent a formal notice to Pakistan seeking a “review” of the Indus Water Treaty. The notice was issued under Article XII (3) of the treaty. Earlier, in January 2023, India had issued a notice to Pakistan for modification of the treaty. The 2024 review notice was qualitatively different and a step higher than the 2023 notice.

Now, they have decided to set it aside and made it conditional to Pakistan’s actions on terrorist infrastructure.
Second, Misri said, “the Integrated Check Post Attari will be closed with immediate effect. Those who have crossed over with valid endorsements may return through that route before 01 May 2025”. This will impact businessmen and Pakistan nationals who have come to India through the Wagah border, on foot. This will include medical patients. They have been given a week’s time.

Third, “Pakistani nationals will not be permitted to travel to India under the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme (SVES) visas. Any SVES visas issued in the past to Pakistani nationals are deemed cancelled. Any Pakistani national currently in India under SVES visa has 48 hours to leave India,” he said.

The SVES was launched in 1992. The leaders at the Fourth Summit (Islamabad, 29-31 December 1988), while realising the importance of having people-to-people contact among SAARC countries, decided that certain categories of dignitaries should be entitled to a special travel document, which would exempt them from visas within the region.

As directed by the Summit, the Council of Ministers regularly kept under review the list of entitled categories. Currently, the list included 24 categories of entitled persons, which include dignitaries, judges of higher courts, parliamentarians, senior officials, businessmen, journalists, and sportsmen.

Visa Stickers are issued by the respective Member States to the entitled categories of that particular country. The validity of the Visa Sticker is generally for one year. The implementation is reviewed regularly by the Immigration Authorities of SAARC Member States.

Fourth, Misri said, “the Defence/Military, Naval and Air Advisors in the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi are declared Persona Non Grata. They have a week to leave India. India will be withdrawing its own Defence/Navy/Air Advisors from the Indian High Commission in Islamabad. These posts in the respective High Commissions are deemed annulled. Five support staff of the Service Advisors will also be withdrawn from both High Commissions.”

This is a significant step as they were viewed as official channels of communication between the Armed Forces and the intelligence agencies of the two countries.

Fifth, he said, “The overall strength of the High Commissions will be brought down to 30 from the present 55 through further reductions, to be effected by 01 May 2025”.

This would include the expelled defence services officials and personnel and 17 more diplomats and their staff. This reduced strength, by almost half, would mean that there will be skeletal staff at the missions in Delhi and Islamabad.

Misri said “the CCS reviewed the overall security situation and directed all forces to maintain high vigil. It resolved that the perpetrators of the attack will be brought to justice and their sponsors held to account. As with the recent extradition of Tahawwur Rana, India will be unrelenting in the pursuit of those who have committed acts of terror, or conspired to make them possible.”

Faced with the deadliest terror attack on civilians in the country since the 26/11 attacks, New Delhi looked at a bouquet of options before taking the call on the diplomatic front.

Sources said coercive diplomacy has been used by the government in the past — especially post 26/11, and after the Pulwama terror attack in 2019 – including naming and shaming Pakistan across the world. This will include briefing foreign ambassadors based in Delhi, briefing foreign ministries by Indian missions overseas, raising the issue at the United Nations (Security Council and other UN agencies), and sending special envoys to brief foreign governments.

Sources said the government is also looking at other options, including kinetic options that include military action. “All options are on the table,” the sources said.