India suspends Indus Water Treaty with Pakistan immediately

April 24, 2025 (MLN): India has stalled the key water-sharing agreement known as the Indus Water Treaty with Pakistan, its foreign ministry said.

Additionally, the ministry stated that Pakistani nationals will no longer be permitted to travel to India under the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme.

In a series of escalatory measures, India’s top diplomat Vikram Misri revealed that the main land border crossing at Attari-Wagah would be closed with immediate effect, according to the press release.

He noted that individuals with valid travel documents may return to their respective countries before May 1.

“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,” Misri told reporters in New Delhi.

The statement came after a deadly attack on Tuesday in which gunmen opened fire at tourists in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK)’s Pahalgam area, killing 26 and injuring 17.

In response to the attack, India declared the defence advisers in the Pakistani high commission in New Delhi persona non grata and instructed them to leave.

Furthermore, the strength of India’s high commission in Islamabad will be reduced from 55 to 30 staff members.

Misri confirmed that the key border crossing between India and Pakistan would be shut immediately and that Pakistani nationals will not be allowed entry into India under special visas.

Pakistan expressed concern over the loss of tourist lives in the Anantnag district of IIOJK, where the incident took place.

India’s Defence Minister Rajnath Singh condemned the attack, labeling it one of the worst on civilians in Kashmir in recent years.

“Those responsible and behind such an act will very soon hear our response, loud and clear,” Singh declared in a speech delivered in New Delhi.

He added, “We won’t just reach those people who carried out the attack. We will also reach out to those who planned this from behind the scenes on our land.”

While Singh did not directly name those he held responsible, he emphasized that the Indian government would take every necessary and appropriate step.

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