New Delhi:
The Attari Border between India and Pakistan, located in Punjab, will be closed from tonight as part of retaliatory measures against Pakistan following the shocking terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam – the worst since the 2019 Pulwama strike — in which 26 people died.
Besides closure of Attari border, suspension of Indus water treaty and refusal to issue SAARC visas were among the range of measures India will take against Pakistan, the Cabinet Committee on Security decided this evening. The committee chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, had met to formulate India’s response to the attack.
“The Integrated Check Post Attari will be closed with immediate effect. Those who have crossed over with valid endorsements may return through that route before 01 May 2025,” the foreign ministry announced after the meeting.
The suspension of Indus Water Treaty – a water sharing agreement that sends the waters of Indus to the parched heartland of Pakistan – is the strongest measure. This is the first time the water treaty is being suspended – the measure is seen as second only to cutting off diplomatic relations.
The government will brief the political parties regarding the decisions, sources said.
Around 2.30 pm yesterday, terrorists had opened fire at tourists traversing a meadow in Baisaran valley on ponies. A Nepali national, a man helping with the ponies, and 24 tourists from across 14 states had died.
The terrorists had shot the men on the head, after apparently asking them to recite Islamic verses. Visuals of women in shock, sitting beside the bodies of their husbands, were widely circulated online, evoking outrage.
The Resistance Front (TRF) — a terror group seen as proxy for the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba — has claimed responsibility for the attack, which has sent shock waves across the country.
Earlier today, Union defence minister Rajnath Singh made it clear that India will retaliate. Without naming Pakistan, he said, “I assure people that the Government of India will take every step that is necessary and appropriate. And we will not only get those who have carried out this incident, we will also reach out to those who, sitting behind the scenes, have conspired to commit such nefarious acts on the soil of India”.