Pak suspends all trade, shuts airspace after India’s offensive over Pahalgam attack

A day after India launched a major diplomatic offensive against Pakistan following the deadly Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir, Islamabad has announced a series of retaliatory measures, including shutting down the Wagah border, suspending all SAARC visas for Indian nationals, and closing its airspace for Indian airlines.

The move came less than 24 hours after India announced a five-pronged diplomatic response following the Pahalgam carnage — one of the deadliest civilian attacks in the Valley in recent years — which included suspending the Indus Waters Treaty and scaling down diplomatic presence on both sides.

On Thursday, in a statement issued after a meeting of the National Security Committee chaired by Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Islamabad termed India’s steps as “unilateral, unjust, politically motivated and devoid of legal merit”.

PAKISTAN’S COUNTERMEASURES

Among the key decisions taken by Pakistan:

• The Wagah border will be closed with immediate effect. All transit from India through this route is suspended. Indian nationals who entered Pakistan through Wagah with valid endorsements must return by April 30.
• All visas under the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme (SVES) issued to Indian nationals have been cancelled with immediate effect, barring Sikh religious pilgrims. Indians currently in Pakistan under the scheme have been asked to leave within 48 hours.
• Pakistan’s airspace is now closed for all Indian-owned or Indian-operated airlines.
• All trade with India, including via third countries, has been suspended.
• The Indian Defence, Naval and Air Advisors in Islamabad have been declared persona non grata and must leave the country by April 30. Their positions in the High Commission stand annulled.
• The strength of India’s High Commission in Islamabad will be reduced to 30 staff members by the end of the month.

Pakistan “vehemently rejected” India’s decision to hold the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance, calling it a “binding international agreement brokered by the World Bank.”

India, which has in the past repeatedly pulled up Pakistan for being a safe haven for terrorists, has blamed Islamabad for the Pahalgam attack. Pakistan, for its part, called the allegations “frivolous, devoid of rationality.”