Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has pledged to relentlessly pursue, track, and punish terrorists and their supporters following a tragic militant attack that claimed the lives of 26 tourists in Kashmir.
During his speech on Thursday in Bihar, Modi folded his hands in a gesture of prayer to honor the victims, urging the thousands present to join him in remembrance.
“We will pursue them to the ends of the earth,” Modi declared, expressing his strong sentiment against the perpetrators without directly identifying them or naming Pakistan.
This rhetoric is likely to exacerbate already strained relations between India and Pakistan, particularly after India took significant diplomatic actions in response to the attack.
Late Wednesday, India downgraded its diplomatic ties with Pakistan, halting a water treaty that has been in place for six decades and closing the only functional land border crossing between the two nations.
On Thursday, both nations canceled visas for their nationals to travel to each other’s territories.
Effective Sunday, Indian authorities announced that all visas previously issued to Pakistani nationals would be revoked, and Pakistanis currently in India were instructed to leave before their visas expired based on the new timeline.
In retaliation, Pakistan closed its airspace to all Indian airlines and suspended all trade with India, extending to trade through third countries as well.
Awais Lekhari, Pakistan’s Power Minister, labeled India’s suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty as “an act of water warfare; a cowardly, illegal move.”
On the ground in Kashmir, local police have made public notices identifying three suspected militants believed to be involved in the devastating attack.
Of the three suspects, two have been identified as Pakistani nationals, although details on how they were identified have not been disclosed.
The ongoing conflict over Kashmir is deep-seated, with both India and Pakistan administering separate regions while claiming the entire territory.
In a further indication of escalating tensions, Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri revealed that a cabinet committee on security had been briefed on the cross-border connections regarding the attack, described as one of the worst terrorist incidents against civilians in India in nearly two decades.
However, Misri did not provide evidence to substantiate these claims or offer additional information regarding the investigation’s findings.
Amidst these developments, India has started to withdraw its defense advisers from Pakistan and plans to reduce the diplomatic staff at its mission in Islamabad from 55 to 30 personnel.
Local reports indicate that India has summoned the top Pakistani diplomat in New Delhi to communicate that all defense advisers in Pakistan’s mission are now considered persona non grata, with a week provided for their departure.
In the wake of the attack, Modi has called for an all-party meeting with opposition leaders to discuss the government’s proposed course of action.
Protests erupted outside the Pakistan embassy in New Delhi on Thursday, as dozens of demonstrators shouted slogans and confronted police barricades.
On the other side of the border, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif of Pakistan convened a meeting of the National Security Committee to deliberate on the country’s response to the escalating situation.
The Indus Waters Treaty, brokered by the World Bank and signed in 1960, has historically moderated the allocation of Indus River waters between India and Pakistan.
Remarkably, it has remained intact through two wars and various diplomatic rifts.
Tensions have remained high even before the latest incidents, as diplomatic relations had already been weakened when Pakistan expelled India’s envoy and has since not appointed an ambassador in New Delhi following India’s revocation of Kashmir’s semi-autonomous status in 2019.
The recent attack has posed a significant challenge to Modi and his ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s claims of having achieved stability and development in Jammu and Kashmir, a region that has long faced conflict.
While India’s government has accused Pakistan of actively supporting an insurgency in Kashmir, Islamabad asserts that it provides only moral and diplomatic backing for the population’s self-determination.
Since the insurgency commenced in 1989, tens of thousands of lives have been lost in Kashmir, although violence has dwindled in recent years as tourism has surged in the picturesque area.
The implications of these latest developments continue to unfold as both nations navigate the complexities of their contentious relationship.
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