NSC meeting warns any Indian attempt to stop or divert flow of water under Indus Waters Treaty would be "act of war".
Dawn.com |
Reuters |
AFP
April 24, 2025
Pakistan on Thursday announced the closure of the Wagah Border, amid other measures, following a meeting of the National Security Committee (NSC) convened to formulate a response to India’s slew of
aggressive measures against the country in the wake of an
attack in India-held Kashmir that claimed over two dozen lives.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif chaired the meeting, which was attended by top civil and military leadership and is deliberating “upon [the] internal and external situation arising after the Pahalgam false flag operation”.
According to a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), the participants of the meeting discussed the national security environment and the regional situation, particularly in the wake of Pahalgam attack.
“Expressing concern over the loss of tourists’ lives, the committee reviewed the Indian measures announced on 23rd April 2025 and termed them unilateral, unjust, politically motivated, extremely irresponsible and devoid of legal merit,” the statement added.
The full text of the statement can be read here.
What we know so far:
- India suspends Indus Waters Treaty, further downgrades diplomatic ties after gunmen kill 26 in held Kashmir tourist hotspot
- Pakistani leaders rebuke allegations, term it ‘false flag operation’, call Delhi’s move ‘water warfare’
- PM Shehbaz chairing top security body’s meeting to mull response
- Modi vows to pursue attackers to ‘ends of the Earth’
- India suspends Pakistani govt’s X account in its country
- Kashmiri students report harassment, attacks in India
The NSC also announced a series of measures in retaliation to the “reckless and irresponsible behaviour of India, which disregards international conventions, UN Security Council Resolutions and international obligations at will”.
Most prominantely, Pakistan suspended the 1972 Simla Agreement and said it would close the Wagah border with India.
“Pakistan shall exercise the right to hold all bilateral agreements with India including but not limited to Simla Agreement in abeyance, till India desists from its manifested behaviour of fomenting terrorism inside Pakistan; trans-national killings; and non-adherence to international law and UN Resolutions on Kashmir,” the PMO statement said.
“Pakistan shall close down the Wagah Border Post, with immediate effect. All cross-border transit from India through this route shall be suspended, without exception,” the NSC decided, giving an April 30 deadline to those who crossed with “valid endorsements” to return through that route.
“Pakistan vehemently rejects the Indian announcement to hold the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance,” the PMO statement said, noting the pact was a binding international agreement that contained no provision for unilateral suspension.
“Water is a vital national interest of Pakistan, a lifeline for its 240 million people and its availability will be safeguarded at all costs,” the NSC stressed.
“Any attempt to stop or divert the flow of water belonging to Pakistan as per the Indus Waters Treaty, and the usurpation of the rights of lower riparian will be considered as an Act of War and responded with full force across the complete spectrum of national power,” it warned.
As done by India, Pakistan also suspended all visas under the Saarc Visa Exemption Scheme (SVES) issued to Indian nationals and deemed them cancelled with immediate effect, except for Sikh religious pilgrims.
“Indian nationals currently in Pakistan under SVES are instructed to exit within 48 hours, less Sikh pilgrims,” it added.
Pakistan also declared the Indian defence, naval and air advisors in Islamabad persona non grata, directing them to leave “immediately but not later than 30 April 2025”.
“These posts in the Indian High Commission are deemed annulled. Support staff of these advisors are also directed to return to India,” it said, stating that the strength of the Indian High Commission in Islamabad will be reduced to 30 diplomats and staff members from April 30.
In another step, Pakistan announced closure of its airspace to all India-owned or Indian-operated airlines with immediate effect.
Pakistan further announced the suspension of “all trade with India, including to and from any third country through Pakistan”.
The NSC underscored that Pakistan and its armed forces “remain fully capable and prepared to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity against any misadventure, as clearly demonstrated by its measured yet resolute response to India’s reckless incursion in February 2019”, the PMO statement added.
“The Pakistani nation remains committed to peace, but will never allow anyone to transgress its sovereignty, security, dignity and their inalienable rights,” the country’s top leadership asserted.
Meanwhile, New Delhi’s foreign ministry announced today that all Pakistani citizens in India must leave the country by April 29.
“In the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack, the Government of India has decided to suspend visa services to Pakistani nationals with immediate effect,”
AFP reported.
“All Pakistani nationals currently in India must leave India before the expiry of visas, as now amended.”
It will not impact Pakistani diplomats in New Delhi, although their numbers were reduced by Indian orders a day earlier.
A day ago, India shut borders, downgraded diplomatic ties and, in an unprecedented move, unilaterally announced the suspension of the
Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) over what the BJP government and media claimed — without offering any evidence — was Islamabad’s alleged support for cross-border terrorism.
Today, Indian and international media, quoting India-held Kashmir’s Anantnag Police, reported that two of the suspected attackers were Pakistani and belonged to the banned Lashkar-i-Taiba (LeT).
Pakistan has denied any role in the attack and
offered condolences for the loss of lives.
On Thursday morning, Indian media reported that the Modi-led regime had
blocked the Pakistani government’s X account in the country and
summoned the Pakistani charge d’affaires in New Delhi.
Among the Indian measures it announced, the IWT’s suspension stood out as the most severe. The 1960 pact, brokered by the World Bank, has endured through wars and decades of hostility. Its suspension, therefore, marked a watershed moment in the already fraught relationship between the nuclear-armed neighbours.
India further downgraded diplomatic ties by closing down the main border transit point, framing the attack as a grave provocation that warranted significant diplomatic, economic, and logistical pressure on Pakistan.
The attack took place in Pahalgam, a tourist hotspot in India-occupied Kashmir that draws thousands of visitors every summer. Gunmen opened fire on visitors, killing
at least 26 people — all men from across India except one from Nepal — and injuring 17 others. It was the region’s deadliest attack on civilians since 2000.
A hitherto unknown group, named by
several Indian
outlets as ‘The Resistance Front’, is said to have claimed responsibility for the attack.
“Meeting of the National Security Committee starts,” a statement from the information ministry said shortly after 12:30pm.
A statement from the PM Office said that “important decisions were expected in the context of India’s unilateral and irresponsible actions as a result of the current situation” in occupied Kashmir.
