International Desk //

India has announced the closure of key land borders with Pakistan. The country’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri told reporters in New Delhi that the Attari-Wagah border will be closed immediately. He said that those who have valid documents will be able to return to Pakistan before May 1. NDTV, AFP

Meanwhile, the country has also announced the suspension of the Indus Water Sharing Treaty with Pakistan. The country made this announcement today, a day after 26 people were killed in a terrorist attack in Pahalgam, occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

On Wednesday, the decision to cancel the treaty was taken in an emergency meeting of the country’s Cabinet Committee on Security headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. A total of five decisions were taken against Pakistan in that meeting.

The decisions are:

1. Suspension of the Indus Water Sharing Treaty. India says that it will remain suspended until Pakistan stops terrorism on the border and abandons support for terrorism. On September 19, 1960, the then Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Pakistani President Field Marshal Ayub Khan signed the Indus Water Sharing Treaty in Karachi. This much-discussed agreement was signed under the mediation of the World Bank.

2. The Attari-Wagah border will be closed immediately. Those with valid documents will be able to cross the border before May 1.

3. Pakistani citizens will not be allowed to travel to India under the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme (SVES). Any SVES visa issued to Pakistani citizens in the past will be considered cancelled. Pakistani citizens currently in India on SVES visas have also been asked to leave India within 48 hours.

4. The military, naval and air advisors of the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi have been declared ‘persona non grata’. They will get a week to leave India. India is withdrawing defense, naval and air advisors from the Indian High Commission in Islamabad. These posts of the concerned High Commission have been declared abolished. It has also been announced that five support staff of the Service Advisors will be withdrawn from both the High Commissions.

5. It has been decided to reduce the overall manpower of the High Commission from 55 to 30. This will be effective by May 1.

A terrorist attack took place in Pahelgam, Kashmir on Tuesday afternoon. Gunmen came out of the jungle and started firing at tourists. The exact number of people killed in the attack has not been officially disclosed. However, security sources told the AFP news agency that the number of people killed was at least 26.

The Resistance Front (TRF), an affiliate of the banned Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba organization, has claimed responsibility for the attack on Tuesday afternoon.

Meanwhile, Pakistan has also condemned the incident. According to a report by the country’s media Geo News, Pakistan is concerned about the attack in Pahelgam in ‘illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir’. The country’s Foreign Ministry spokesman said that Pakistan condemns the attack on 26 people in Pahalgam. Pakistan also expresses its condolences to the families of the deceased.

Terming the attack as a ‘terrorist attack’, Dr. Muhammad Yunus, the chief advisor to the interim government of Bangladesh, has strongly condemned the incident and sent a message to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In the message, he said, “Please accept my deep condolences on the loss of lives in the terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Kashmir. We strongly condemn this heinous attack. We reaffirm that Bangladesh’s stand against terrorism is always strong.”

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