India revokes all visas issued to Pakistani nationals following deadly
Kashmir attack
[April 24, 2025]
By AIJAZ HUSSAIN and SHEIKH SAALIQ
SRINAGAR, India (AP) — India says it has revoked all visas issued to
Pakistani nationals following a deadly attack by gunmen in Kashmir that
killed 26 people, mostly tourists.
In a statement issued on Thursday, India’s foreign ministry said all
visas issued to Pakistani nationals stand revoked with effect from
Sunday. It also advised Indians citizens not to travel to Pakistan.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
SRINAGAR, India (AP) —
Tensions between India and Pakistan were high on Thursday as New Delhi
mounted a diplomatic offensive against Islamabad, blaming it for a
deadly attack that killed 26 people in Kashmir and shattered India's
claims of calm in a disputed region where a bloody rebellion against
Indian rule has been ongoing for decades.
A rare attack on civilians — mostly tourists who were visiting a popular
scenic meadow — shocked and outraged India and prompted calls for action
against their country's archenemy, Pakistan. The Indian government did
not publicly produce any evidence connecting the attack to its neighbor,
but said it had “cross-border” links to Pakistan. Pakistan denied any
connection to the attack, which was claimed by a previously unknown
militant group that called itself the Kashmir Resistance.
India and Pakistan each administer a part of Kashmir, but both claim the
territory in its entirety. New Delhi describes all militancy in Kashmir
as Pakistan-backed terrorism. Pakistan denies this, and many Muslim
Kashmiris consider the militants to be part of a home-grown freedom
struggle.
Domestic pressures on both sides
The killings also put pressure on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu
nationalist government to respond aggressively. His government announced
a series of diplomatic actions against Islamabad while hinting at plans
for more punishment.
Pakistan has responded angrily that it has nothing to do with the attack
and said it would formulate a response to India's actions on Thursday in
the National Security Committee meeting, the country's highest
decision-making forum of senior civil and military officials.
Dozens of demonstrators in Islamabad and other cities in Pakistan
rallied against India’s suspension of a water sharing treaty, demanding
their government retaliate.
“India has taken irresponsible steps and leveled allegations,”
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar told local Dunya News TV channel.
Dar added that “any kinetic step by India will see a tit-to-tat kinetic
response” from Pakistan, rekindling memories of February 2019 when a car
suicide bombing in Kashmir brought the two countries to the verge of
war.
Modi overturned the status quo in Kashmir in August 2019, when his
government revoked the region's semi-autonomous status and brought it
under direct federal control.
That deepened tensions in the region, but things with Pakistan held
stable as the two countries in 2021 renewed a previous ceasefire
agreement along their border, which has largely held despite attacks on
Indian forces by insurgents in Kashmir.
Fears of escalation
The latest incident could once again raise the specter of conflict
between two nuclear-armed neighbors that have long accused each other of
backing forces to destabilize the other.
At a public rally Thursday, Modi said “India will identify, track and
punish every terrorist, their handlers and their backers.”
“We will pursue them to the ends of the earth,” said Modi, who was later
in the day scheduled to head an all-party meeting with opposition
parties to brief them on the government’s response to the attack.
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Supporters of the Pakistan Murkazi Muslim League party chant slogans
during a demonstration against the suspension of water-sharing
treaty by India with Pakistan, in Lahore, Pakistan Thursday, April
24, 2025.(AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)
India’s foreign secretary, Vikram Misri, announced Wednesday night
that a number of Pakistani diplomats were asked to leave New Delhi
and Indian diplomats were recalled from Pakistan. Diplomatic
missions in both countries will reduce their staff from 55 to 30 as
of May 1, and the only functional land border crossing between the
countries would be closed.
India also suspended a landmark water-sharing treaty that has
survived two wars between the countries, in 1965 and 1971, and a
major border skirmish in 1999.
The Indus Water Treaty, brokered by the World Bank in 1960, allows
for sharing the waters of a river system that is a lifeline for both
countries, particularly for Pakistan’s agriculture.
Some experts say India may move beyond diplomatic sanctions as the
country’s media and leaders from Modi’s ruling party call for
military action.
Earlier Wednesday, defense minister, Rajnath Singh, pledged to “not
only trace those who perpetrated the attack but also trace those who
conspired to commit this nefarious act on our soil” and hinted at
the possibility of military strikes.
Ashok Malik, a former policy advisor in India’s foreign ministry,
said New Delhi’s response reflected a high degree of anger within
the administration and India’s move on the Indus Water treaty “will
impose costs on Pakistan’s economy.”
“Islamabad will have to deal with the consequences,” Malik said,
adding that Indian leaders view military options as viable.
“Its (India's) military strategists believe there is a space for
kinetic conventional action under the nuclear umbrella. The space
isn’t infinite, but it isn’t insignificant either,” he said.
Praveen Donthi, senior analyst with the International Crisis Group,
said framing the Kashmir conflict as a security crisis of Pakistan’s
creation, “which can be resolved only through harsh talk and
actions,” brings political dividends to Modi’s government but could
also leave it with few options in times of crises.
“The immense public pressure on the Modi government to retaliate
strongly and militarily is self-created. Soon, there will be no
options left unless New Delhi starts looking to address the roots of
political unrest in Kashmir,” Donthi said.
Dismay in Kashmir
The killings shocked residents of Kashmir, where militants fighting
against Indian rule have rarely targeted tourists and have mainly
mounted their attacks against Indian forces.
In a rare show of public outrage, Kashmiris — many of whom have
roiled under an intense crackdown by Indian forces and New Delhi's
highhanded rule — took part in street protests and candle light
marches in protest against the killings. Markets, private schools
and businesses were also shut Wednesday amidst an uneasy calm as
people worried that the attacks could drive away tourists and hurt
the region’s economy.
Funerals of several of those killed were also held across some
Indian cities.
___
Associated Press journalists Rajesh Roy in New Delhi and Munir Ahmed
in Islamabad contributed to this report.
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