Pakistan cancels visas for Indian nationals, suspends trade, closes airspace after Kashmir attack

SRINAGAR, India (AP) — Pakistan on Thursday cancelled visas for Indian nationals, closed its airspace for all Indian owned or Indian operated airlines, and suspended all trade with India including to and from any third country.

The retaliatory measures follow India’s decision to suspend visas for Pakistani nationals in the aftermath of a deadly attack by gunmen in Kashmir that killed 26 people, mostly tourists.

Tuesday’s attack was the worst assault in years targeting civilians in the restive region that has seen an anti-India rebellion for more than three decades.

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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.

In a statement issued Thursday, India’s foreign ministry said all visas issued to Pakistani nationals will be revoked with effect from Sunday. It also advised Indians citizens not to travel to Pakistan.

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.

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.

Defense Minister Rajnath Singh pledged Wednesday 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.

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Associated Press journalists Rajesh Roy in New Delhi and Munir Ahmed in Islamabad contributed to this report.