In the aftermath of the recent Pahalgam attack in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, which resulted in the deaths of 26 individuals, India has implemented several retaliatory measures against Pakistan.
Among these actions, the Indian government has blocked the official X (formerly Twitter) account of the Government of Pakistan within its territorial boundaries.
The account now displays a notification stating that it has been withheld in India in response to a legal demand.
The decision to block the account follows the attack in Baisaran Valley, near Pahalgam, where militants opened fire on tourists, causing significant casualties.
At least 17 people were also injured in the shooting that occurred on Tuesday in the scenic region of Jammu and Kashmir. Police reported that the deceased included 25 Indians and one Nepalese national.
This incident marked the deadliest attack on civilians since the 2008 Mumbai shootings and shattered the relative peace in IIOJK. In addition to blocking the social media account, India has suspended the Indus Waters Treaty, a long-standing water-sharing agreement between the two nations.
Accusing cross-border involvement in the attack, Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri stated on Wednesday that New Delhi would immediately suspend the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty “until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism.”
The treaty, brokered by the World Bank, divided the Indus River and its tributaries between the two neighbors and regulated water sharing. It had endured even through periods of conflict between the two countries.
Pakistan is heavily reliant on the water flowing downstream from this river system in IIOJK for its hydropower and irrigation needs. Suspending the treaty would enable India to deny Pakistan its allocated share of the waters.
India has closed the only open land border crossing point between the two countries and announced that those who have crossed into India can return through this point before May 1st.
With no direct flights currently operating between the two countries, this measure effectively severs all transportation links between them.
Pakistani nationals will no longer be permitted to travel to India under special South Asian visas; all existing visas of this type have been canceled, and Pakistanis in India on such visas were given 48 hours to depart, according to Misri.
All defense attachés within the Pakistani mission in New Delhi have been declared persona non grata and given one week to leave. India will also withdraw its own defense attachés from Pakistan and reduce the staff size at its mission in Islamabad from 55 to 30, Misri stated.
