Tension Escalates As Pakistan Shuts Airspace And Suspends Visas For Indians (image-instagram/shehbazsharif)
Amidst the deteriorating diplomatic ties between India and Pakistan, Islamabad on Thursday has decided to close the airspace of the country to Indian airlines. The decision has come just hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced the suspension of visa services to Pakistani nationals. Pakistan has also suspended all trade with India, including through third countries.
As of now, most of the steps taken by Pakistan after a meeting of the National Security Committee chaired by Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif in Islamabad were tit-for-tat responses to measures announced by India on Wednesday. A statement from the Pakistan Prime Minister’s Office said the country’s “airspace will be closed with immediate effect for all Indian-owned or Indian-operated airlines,” and that trade with India, including to and from any third country through Pakistan, will be suspended forth with.
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Moreover, Pakistan, further responding to India’s decision to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960, said that any stopping or diversion of the flow of water belonging to Pakistan under the pact will be seen as an “act of war” and responded to with “full force.”
Pakistan also said it will “exercise the right to hold all bilateral agreements with India, including but not limited to the Simla Agreement, in abeyance,” till India desists from “fomenting terrorism inside Pakistan; trans-national killings; and non-adherence to international law and UN Resolutions on Kashmir.”
Meanwhile, in response to India’s expulsion of the three Pakistani military attachés, Pakistan had declared the Indian defence, naval and air advisors in Islamabad persona non grata and directed them to leave Pakistan no later than April 30. These were further annulled, and the support staff was also expelled.
Pakistan has also declared to reduce the strength of the Indian High Commission in Islamabad to 30 from April 30, and the Wagah border post will be closed. All cross-border transit from India through this route will be suspended, and Indians who crossed via this post should return by April 30.
Pakistan has suspended all visas issued to Indians under the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme, with the exception of Sikh pilgrims. Indians in Pakistan with such visas were asked to leave within 48 hours. The statement had also described India’s punitive measures as “unilateral, unjust, politically motivated, extremely irresponsible, and devoid of legal merit” and contended that Kashmir “remains an unresolved dispute.”
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“In the absence of any credible investigation and verifiable evidence, attempts to link the Pahalgam attack with Pakistan are frivolous, devoid of rationality, and defeat logic,” the statement said.
