ibn sultan
New Delhi: India has withheld access to the official X (formerly Twitter) account of the Government of Pakistan, following the attack in Pahalgam, which killed 26 people. The move follows New Delhi’s announcement of a series of stringent retaliatory measures, including the suspension of the decades-old Indus Waters Treaty and the expulsion of senior Pakistani diplomatic staff.
The diplomatic fallout comes a day after the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, convened to determine India’s response to the April 23 attack in Pahalgam, which left 25 Indian citizens and one Nepali national dead.
At a press briefing on Wednesday evening, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri announced the measures. Chief among them is the downgrading of diplomatic missions in each country. Both the Indian and Pakistani high commissions will reduce their personnel strength from 55 to 30, to be completed by May 1.
India has also expelled all defence, naval, and air advisors from the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi. These individuals have been declared persona non grata and instructed to leave the country within a week. Correspondingly, India will withdraw its military advisors from its own high commission in Islamabad. Five support staff assigned to the service advisors in both missions will also be recalled.
India has further suspended the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme for Pakistani nationals. Any existing visas issued to Pakistani citizens under this programme have been cancelled with immediate effect.
The CCS also ordered the immediate closure of the Integrated Check Post at Attari, the only functioning land border crossing between India and Pakistan. Pakistani nationals who have entered India through the post with valid documents may return before the 1 May deadline, Mr Misri added.
