Tensions sharply escalated yesterday between India and Pakistan following a deadly attack that killed 27 civilians in the Indian-administered part of Kashmir.
India blamed the attack on Islamabad. In a surprising turn, both Indian and Pakistani authorities instructed each other’s nationals to leave their respective countries immediately.
Although India did not officially accuse Pakistan, the Indian Prime Minister delivered a strongly worded speech vowing to hunt down those responsible for the attack and their accomplices “to the ends of the earth.”
The attack occurred on Tuesday afternoon when at least three gunmen opened fire in the Pahalgam resort area, about 90 kilometers from the major city of Srinagar, killing 25 Indian and Nepali people, according to Indian police.
This marks the deadliest attack in Kashmir, a disputed region with a Muslim-majority, since 2000. Pakistan has denied any involvement. However, India’s right-wing government responded on Wednesday by launching a series of retaliatory diplomatic measures against Islamabad, including suspending a key water-sharing treaty, closing the main land border crossing between the two nations, and reducing diplomatic staff.
Yesterday, India’s Foreign Ministry announced the suspension of visa issuance for Pakistani citizens effective immediately, stating that all Pakistanis currently in India must leave the country by April 27 for regular visas and April 29 for medical visas.
In response, Islamabad convened a rare meeting of its National Security Committee yesterday afternoon and announced it would expel Indian diplomats, suspend visa services for Indian nationals, close its borders and airspace with India, and halt all trade.
The Pakistani government emphasised it would take “strict measures” against “Indian threats”, warning that any attempt by India to block water supplies from the Indus River would be considered “an act of war”.
“Any attempt to stop or divert the flow of water belonging to Pakistan under the Indus Waters Treaty will be considered an act of war and will be met with force,” Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s office said.
In his first speech since the attack, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “I say to the world India will identify the terrorists and their supporters, pursue them, and punish them. We will chase them to the ends of the earth.
“Let me be clear. Whoever carried out or planned this attack will pay a price beyond their imagination. They will pay. Even the smallest patch of land these terrorists hold, the time has come to destroy it. The will of 1.4 billion Indians will break the spine of these terrorists,” he added.
On Wednesday, Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also vowed retaliation against those who “secretly organised” the attack, in a thinly veiled warning to Pakistan.
Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif responded by saying, “India is waging a limited war against us. If they wish to escalate, we are ready. We will not yield to any international pressure in defending our land”.
Many analysts now anticipate a potential military response from New Delhi, similar to its reaction in 2019 after a deadly suicide bombing targeted Indian troops.
Praveen Donthi, an analyst from the International Crisis Group, said that “This attack is likely to push India-Pakistan relations into one of their darkest periods”.
No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, but Indian police released composite sketches of three suspects.
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