On Thursday, Pakistan and India revoked visas for their citizens to travel to the other country. Islamabad retaliated after New Delhi suspended the Indus Waters Treaty, a water-sharing agreement between the two countries. The downgrade in diplomacy between the two countries comes after a tourist terrorist attack in India.
A group named The Resistance Front has taken responsibility for the shooting. It is a branch of the terrorist organization Lashkar-e-Taiba, which is based in Pakistan. On Tuesday, a gunman opened fire in the heavily disputed region of Kashmir, killing 26 people, most of whom were tourists, making it the deadliest attack on civilians in the area in recent times.In response, India said it would revoke all visas issued to Pakistani nationals as of Sunday and ordered Pakistanis currently in the country to leave before then.
It also announced that it was cutting diplomatic staff, closing the only usable land border crossing between India and Pakistan and suspending a key water-sharing treaty.
Pakistan responded by denying all Indian-owned or Indian-operated airlines access to its airspace and suspending all trade with India, including travel to and from any third country. According to The Associated Press, Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh hinted at the possibility of military strikes on Wednesday and promised to “not only trace those who perpetrated the attack but also trace those who conspired to commit this nefarious act on our soil.” The “belligerent measures” of India were condemned by Pakistan’s National Security Committee. It said that while Pakistan remained committed to peace, it would never allow anyone to “transgress its sovereignty, security, dignity and inalienable rights.”
Government ministers on both sides have hinted that the dispute could escalate to military action. Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar told local Dunya News TV channel that “any kinetic step by India will see a tit-for-tat kinetic response.” New Delhi describes all militancy in Kashmir as Pakistan-backed terrorism. Pakistan denies this, and many Muslim Kashmiris consider the militants to be part of a homegrown freedom struggle.
During a speech on Thursday, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised to find those responsible for the attack.“ We will pursue them to the ends of the earth,” he vowed.
India, Pakistan tensions escalate after tourist attack: What we know so far
