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India has declared multiple Pakistani diplomats persona non grata following a recent attack on tourists in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir. The Indian government summoned a senior Pakistani diplomat to the Ministry of External Affairs late Wednesday night to formally convey its strong protest and implement a series of retaliatory measures against Islamabad.
Indian news agency ANI reports that Saad Ahmed Waraich, a senior Pakistani diplomat based in New Delhi, was called in at midnight to receive an official notice regarding the expulsion of Pakistan’s Defense, Naval, and Air Advisors. These officials have been granted a one-week deadline to leave the country.
The decision came hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired an emergency meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) at his residence in Delhi. The two-and-a-half-hour meeting concluded with a press briefing, where Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri outlined five strategic measures India is taking against Pakistan.
Among the most notable decisions is the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, a critical water-sharing agreement between the two nations. India stated that the treaty will remain on hold until Pakistan withdraws support for cross-border terrorism.
Additionally, the Attari-Wagah border has been closed to cross-border movement. Pakistani nationals who entered India through this checkpoint have been ordered to return by May 1. India also revoked permissions granted under the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme (SVES), effectively barring any future entries under this provision and ordering all Pakistani citizens currently in India under SVES to leave within 48 hours.
In a further move to scale down diplomatic ties, India has reduced the permissible staff strength of the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi from 55 to 30 personnel.
These sweeping measures mark one of the most severe downturns in Indo-Pak relations in recent years. While there has been no official response from Islamabad as of publication, the diplomatic fallout is expected to unfold over the coming days.
This development comes amid rising regional tensions and growing international concern over the stability of South Asia.