NEW DELHI: Pakistan’s top political and military leadership is set to meet on Thursday to formulate a response to India’s sweeping measures following the Pahalgam terror attack that claimed 28 lives, including 26 Indians and two foreign tourists.
The move comes after India suspended the Indus Water Treaty, expelled Pakistani military attaches, and downgraded diplomatic ties.
“A session of the National Security Committee will be held under the chair of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif,” Pakistan’s defence minister Khawaja Asif said late Wednesday, according to PTI report.
He added that decisions would be taken to give “an appropriate response to the Indian steps.” The meeting will be attended by all services chiefs and key cabinet ministers.
India’s measures were announced a day after a high-level Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) meeting in New Delhi, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who returned early from Saudi Arabia to address the fallout of the attack.
The CCS noted evidence of cross-border linkages and said the attack came “in the wake of the successful holding of elections in the Union Territory and its steady progress towards economic growth and development.”
As part of its response, India suspended the 1960 Indus Water Treaty, shut the Integrated Check Post at Attari with immediate effect, and halted Pakistani access to travel under the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme (SVES). Any such visas issued earlier have been cancelled, and Pakistani nationals under SVES have 48 hours to leave.
Also read: Pahalgam terror attack: Indus water treaty suspended, Attari border closed - the 5 big CCS decisions taken by India
India also declared all defence advisors in the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi as persona non grata, giving them one week to depart. The overall strength of both countries’ diplomatic missions will be capped at 30 personnel by May 1, down from 55.
The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy outfit of the banned Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, has claimed responsibility for the Pahalgam attack, in which most of the victims were civilians.
Asif said Thursday’s National Security Committee meeting reflects the gravity of the moment, noting that such sessions are held “when issues related to national security are to be discussed.”
(With inputs from PTI)
The move comes after India suspended the Indus Water Treaty, expelled Pakistani military attaches, and downgraded diplomatic ties.
“A session of the National Security Committee will be held under the chair of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif,” Pakistan’s defence minister Khawaja Asif said late Wednesday, according to PTI report.
He added that decisions would be taken to give “an appropriate response to the Indian steps.” The meeting will be attended by all services chiefs and key cabinet ministers.
India’s measures were announced a day after a high-level Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) meeting in New Delhi, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who returned early from Saudi Arabia to address the fallout of the attack.
The CCS noted evidence of cross-border linkages and said the attack came “in the wake of the successful holding of elections in the Union Territory and its steady progress towards economic growth and development.”
As part of its response, India suspended the 1960 Indus Water Treaty, shut the Integrated Check Post at Attari with immediate effect, and halted Pakistani access to travel under the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme (SVES). Any such visas issued earlier have been cancelled, and Pakistani nationals under SVES have 48 hours to leave.
Also read: Pahalgam terror attack: Indus water treaty suspended, Attari border closed - the 5 big CCS decisions taken by India
India also declared all defence advisors in the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi as persona non grata, giving them one week to depart. The overall strength of both countries’ diplomatic missions will be capped at 30 personnel by May 1, down from 55.
The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy outfit of the banned Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, has claimed responsibility for the Pahalgam attack, in which most of the victims were civilians.
Asif said Thursday’s National Security Committee meeting reflects the gravity of the moment, noting that such sessions are held “when issues related to national security are to be discussed.”
(With inputs from PTI)
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