Tensions rise between India and Pakistan as countries suspend visas, landmark river treaty

India has suspended issuing new visas to Pakistani citizens and cancelled those previously issued following the shooting in the town of Pahalgam. The attack killed 25 Indians and one Nepali, while the attackers managed to escape.

The BBC writes about this.

All visas issued to Pakistani citizens are valid until April 27, 2025, and medical visas are valid until April 29. The Indian Ministry of External Affairs has urged all Pakistani citizens to leave the country before their visas expire. India has also closed the main border crossing with Pakistan and expelled its military attaché.

The escalation of the conflict between New Delhi and Islamabad began after a shooting occurred in the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir (whose ownership is disputed between the countries), killing 26 people and injuring dozens.

Indian police have identified three of the four suspects in the shooting of 26 tourists — they say they are two Pakistani nationals and one local Kashmiri. New Delhi has decided to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty, signed in 1960. This is a significant change, as India has not done so for many years, even during open conflict with Pakistan.

Pakistan denies involvement in the attack and is suspending all visas issued under the Visa Waiver Program (SAARC). It is also reducing the number of diplomats at the Indian High Commission in Islamabad, expelling Indian defense advisers from the country, closing its airspace to all airlines linked to India, and halting all trade with the country. It is also warning that terminating the river-sharing agreement would be an act of declaration of war.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has vowed to punish "every terrorist" for attacking tourists in Kashmir. Islamabad has called the actions "grossly irresponsible" and said Indiaʼs attempts to link the Pahalgam attack to Pakistan are "frivolous, devoid of rationality and logic".

India and Pakistan are now on the brink of a new armed conflict that could have “unforeseen consequences”, experts interviewed by The New York Times say. A similar attack in 2019 brought them to the brink of war, but they did not go that route then. Now the escalation is on a larger scale, analysts say.

• On April 22, armed militants opened fire on a group of tourists near the town of Pahalgam, located in the Indian-controlled part of the state of Jammu and Kashmir. 26 people were killed. A previously unknown militant group calling itself the “Kashmir Resistance” claimed responsibility for the attack. India blames Pakistan, which denies the charge.

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