India has ordered all Pakistani nationals to leave the country within 72 hours after a militant attack in Kashmir killed 26 tourists.
Vikram Misri, the Indian foreign secretary, accused Pakistani leaders of sponsoring 'cross-border terrorism' as Prime Minister Narendra Modi vowed to 'identify, track and punish every terrorist and their backers' following the horrific attack near Pahalgam in the disputed region.
Indian police have said at least two of the four suspected gunmen behind the assault - which happened while US Vice President JD Vance was visiting the country - are Pakistani citizens.
Tensions have been massively increased between the two historical rivals since the tragedy, with fears that conflict could break out between the two nuclear-armed nations who have been bitter rivals since 1947, when the nations were split from British-controlled India.
A statement from India's Ministry of External Affairs today said: 'In continuation of the decisions made by the Cabinet Committee on Security in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack, the Government of India has decided to suspend visa services to Pakistani nationals with immediate effect.
'All existing valid visas issued by India to Pakistani nationals stand revoked with effect from 27 April 2025.
'Medical visas issued to Pakistani nationals will be valid only till 29 April 2025.
'All Pakistani nationals currently in India must leave India before the expiry of visas, as now amended.
Indian police have said at least two of the four suspected gunmen behind the assault are Pakistani citizens
Tensions have been rising between the two historical rivals since the tragedy, with fears that conflict could break out between the two nuclear-armed nations
Prime Minister Narendra Modi vowed to 'identify, track and punish every terrorist and their backers'
'Indian nationals are strongly advised to avoid travelling to Pakistan. Those Indian nationals currently in Pakistan are also advised to return to India at the earliest.'
Tuesday's attack occured in Kashmir, a region that each country controls parts of but claims in full.
The two nations have been at each others throats since 1947, when Britain, which controlled India, split the nation into two, creating an independent India and Pakistan.
The partition of the two nations established Pakistan as a Muslim-majority nation, while India was created as a Hindu-majority nation.
Britain's decision, passed by parliament in July 1947, also gave Kashmir, as well as Jammu, the opportunity to decide which nation to join.
Kashmir's monarch, the maharaja, initially decided that his nation should go it alone, claiming that it had been under the yoke of empires for centuries and had been ignored and under-developed.
But ultimately, the then-ruler of Kashmir agreed his nation should join India, in exchange for the former colony providing material support against Pakistan, which later was followed by the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947-48.
Rebels in Kashmir have been waging an insurgency, supported by Pakistan, seeking a merger with Pakistan.
New Delhi has regularly blamed Islamabad for backing the gunmen in Kashmir.
On Tuesday gunmen burst out of forests at a popular tourist spot and opened fire on the crowds of visitors, killing 25 Indian residents and one person residing in Nepal.
The attack took place in Pahalgam, a picturesque town in the Himalayas often described as the 'Switzerland of India'.
Following the attack, India's aviation regulator said there was unprecedened demand from travellers and tourists desperately trying to get home.
Modi responded furiously to the incident by pledging a 'punishment bigger than they can imagine' for the perpetrators.
On Tuesday gunmen burst out of forests at a popular tourist spot and opened fire on the crowds of visitors
Family members perform Hindu rituals in front of the body of Bharath Bhushan after the deadly attack in Kashmir
The attack took place in Pahalgam, a picturesque town in the Himalayas often described as the 'Switzerland of India'
'Our enemies have dared to attack the country's soul... India's spirit will never be broken by terrorism,' he said.
Experts have suggested that India could use military force in response to the attack. It could mirror their response to a militant attack on Kashmir in 2019, after which New Delhi launched airstrikes on Balakot in Pakistan.
In 2021, the two countries renewed a previous ceasefire agreement along their border, which has largely held despite attacks on Indian forces by insurgents.
'Modi will have a very strong, if not irresistible, political compulsion to retaliate with force,' Arzan Tarapore, a research scholar from Stanford University’s Center for International Security and Cooperation, told CNN.
'We don’t know what that would look like, and it’s somewhat meaningless to speculate at this point, but I think the 2019 Balakot crisis provides some cues on what to watch for in India’s response.'
Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar
A statement from India's Ministry of External Affairs today said: 'In continuation of the decisions made by the Cabinet Committee on Security in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack, the Government of India has decided to suspend visa services to Pakistani nationals with immediate effect'
There are now signficant fears of the consequences of an all-out war between the two neighbours.
India and Pakistan have armed themselves with hundreds of nuclear warheads, missile delivery systems, advanced fighter jets and modern weapons in recent decades.
About 1,500 people across Kashmir have been detained for questioning in connection with the attack, according to the BBC.
Police have offered a reward of two million rupees - around £17,600 - for anyone offering information about any of the attackers.
Part of India's retaliation included suspending a decades-old water sharing treaty brokered by the World Bank in 1960.
The Cabinet Committee on Security, headed up by Modi, decided to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty, India's Foreign Secretary confirmed last night.
He said: 'The Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 will be held in abeyance with immediate effect until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism.'
The Indus river, which flows through India to Pakistan, is crucial for millions of farmers in both nations.
The suspension of water sharing ahead of the sowing season in Pakistan may have a significant impact on its crop production.
Pakis burn an Indian flag
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14644139/India-orders-Pakistani-nationals-leave-country-slams-borders-shut-nuclear-war-massacre-tourists-Kashmir.html
Indian Army personnel stand guard following the deadly attack
A vehicle is inspected by India's army. India has 500,000 soldiers permanently deployed in Kashmir
Indian police officers stop a vehicle at a check point, near Pahalgam in south Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir Special Operation Group (SOG) personnel patrol at a busy market in Srinagar, Kashmir
