India and Pakistan flex their muscles after Kashmir terror attack

India and Pakistan flex their muscles after Kashmir terror attack
A terror attack on 22 April 2025 in the Pahalgam area in Kashmir, pictured above, killed 26 people and placed extra pressure on already tense relations between India and Pakistan. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

India has ordered all Pakistani citizens, except diplomats, to leave its territory by 29 April in response to an attack in the Indian-administered part of Kashmir that killed 26 civilians, for which it holds its neighbour responsible.

In swift retaliation, Pakistan has declared several Indian diplomats persona non grata and revoked visas for Indian nationals.

“All visas issued to Indian nationals are suspended and cancelled with immediate effect, except for visas for Sikh religious pilgrims,” the Pakistani authorities announced in a statement.

Indian nationals currently in Pakistan have been given 48 hours to leave the country, according to the statement, which also noted that the main border crossing was now closed in both directions.

The Pakistani National Security Committee said Indian defence, naval, and aviation advisers in Islamabad were also declared persona non grata. “All trade with India, including transit through third countries via Pakistan, is immediately suspended,” it said

Additionally, “Pakistani airspace is closed with immediate effect to all airlines owned or operated by India,” the committee announced.

Amid the escalating tensions, the most contentious issue remains water. Water is a critical resource in a region severely threatened by drought and climate change. On Wednesday, New Delhi announced its withdrawal from the Indus Waters Treaty, a 1960 agreement that has never been disputed despite three wars between the neighbours.

Pakistan quickly responded, warning that it would consider “any attempt by its neighbour to reduce its water supply from the Indus River an act of war.”


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