India expels Pakistanis, downsizes High Commission staff; PM Shehbaz summons emergency meeting of National Security Council

As the situation continues to escalate following Tuesday’s Pahalgam attack in held Kashmir, India has ordered Pakistani nationals, including defence/military, naval and air advisers at the High Commission in New Delhi, to leave the country; and withdrawn its own advisers from the Indian High Commission in Islamabad.

According to reports, New Delhi has also officially suspended the historic Indus Waters Treaty with Islamabad, which governs the use of six rivers in the Indus Basin as one of the world’s most durable international water-sharing frameworks.

As per the details, the announcements came from the Indian Ministry of External Affairs following a meeting chaired by Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi following the deadly attack that claimed the lives of 25 Indian citizens, including one Naval officer, and one Nepali national.

In an official statement issued by India's External Affairs Ministry, the country's Cabinet Committee on Security decided: 

(i) 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.

(ii) The Integrated Check Post Attari [Wagah] will be closed with immediate effect. Those who have crossed over with valid endorsements may return through that route before May 1, 2025.

(iii) Pakistani nationals will not be permitted to travel to India under the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme (SVES) visas. Any SVES visas issued in the past to Pakistani nationals are deemed cancelled. Any Pakistani national currently in India under SVES visa has 48 hours to leave India.

(iv) The Defence/Military, Naval and Air Advisors in the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi are declared Persona Non Grata. They have a week to leave India. India will be withdrawing its own Defence/Navy/Air Advisors from the Indian High Commission in Islamabad. These posts in the respective High Commissions are deemed annulled. Five support staff of the Service Advisors will also be withdrawn from both High Commissions.

(v) The overall strength of the High Commissions will be brought down to 30 from the present 55 through further reductions, to be affected by May 1, 2025.

Meanwhile, sources told The Current that, on this side of the border, PM Shehbaz Sharif has called an emergency meeting of the National Security Committee (NSC) Thursday to deliberate Pakistan’s response to India’s recent unilateral and aggressive actions following the Pahalgam attack.

The high-level meeting will be chaired by the premier and is expected to focus on formulating a potential counter-strategy in response to New Delhi’s decisions.

Sources confirmed that the meeting will be attended by the ministers for foreign affairs, interior, and defence, along with the national security adviser, heads of the armed forces, top intelligence officials and other officials concerned.