New Delhi: The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) on Wednesday decided to indefinitely suspend the decades-old Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan in response to the April 22 Pahalgam attack in which 26 people, including one foreign national, were killed.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has detailed five major steps taken by the country’s highest-decision making body on national security in “decisive response to cross-border terrorism”.
“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,” Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri told a press briefing.
Under the treaty, 39 billion cubic meters of water from the Indus River system flows from India into Pakistan annually.
Besides the cross broker linkages in the terrorist attack, the CCS also noted that the attack came in the wake of the successful holding of election in the Union Territory and its steady progress towards economic growth and development, Misri said.
The other key measures, recognising the seriousness of this terrorist attack, are as follows:
2) The integrated Attari checkpost will be closed with immediate effect. Those who have crossed over with valid endorsements may return through that route before May 1, 2025.
3) 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.
4) 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 also be withdrawing its own Defence, Navy and Air advisors from the Indian High Commission in Islamabad. These posts in the respective High Commissions are deemed annulled, signalling a downgrade in military-to-military diplomatic engagement.
5) Overall strength of the High Commissions will be reduced from current 55 to 30.
