An Indian military helicopter is seen in flight as viewed from Baisaran, a day after tourist attack in Pahalgam, about 90 kms (55 miles) from Srinagar on April 23, 2025. (Photo by TAUSEEF MUSTAFA / AFP)
New Delhi: India unveiled a raft of punitive diplomatic measures against Pakistan on Wednesday, after a deadly attack on civilians in Kashmir.
These measures include the suspension of a key water-sharing treaty, the shutting of the main land border crossing between the neighbours and a raft of diplomatic staff reductions, including withdrawing several Indian staff from Islamabad and ordering Pakistanis home.
The gunmen killed 26 men — all Indian except one Nepali — in the deadliest attack on civilians in the Himalayan region for a quarter of a century.
Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri told reporters in New Delhi that the border crossing at Attari-Wagah border “will be closed with immediate effect”, although those with valid travel documents may return before May 1.
The border closure is hugely symbolic — it is on the Attari-Wagah crossing. Pakistan will make "a tit-for-tat response" to the Indian measures, Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar said.
Pakistan's foreign ministry yesterday offered its "condolences to the near ones of the deceased". After India's diplomatic measures, Pakistan said it would convene its National Security Committee, composed of senior civil and military officials, which is summoned only in exceptional circumstances.
"The National Security Committee will discuss all the measures and a comprehensive response will be given," Defence Minister Khawaja Asif told local media.
Deputy PM Dar said India has "given a very unfair, immediate and quick reaction which is a political move."
He added: "If they have any evidence, they should share it with us." The 1960 Indus Water Treaty gave India and Pakistan three Himalayan rivers each and the right to hydropower and irrigation resources.
It established the India-Pakistan Indus Commission, which is supposed to resolve any problems that arise.
India said it had also ordered Islamabad’s defence attachés and other military officials in New Delhi to leave within a week, and said that India would also be withdrawing its own defence, navy and air advisers from Pakistan.
The Indus River is one of the longest on the Asian continent, cutting through ultra-sensitive borders in the region.
The 1960 Indus Water Treaty theoretically shares out water between the two countries but has been fraught with disputes. Analyst Michael Kugelman said the attack posed a very serious risk of a new crisis between India and Pakistan, and probably the most serious risk of a crisis since 2019.
