All Pakistani citizens in India must leave the country by April 29, New Delhi’s foreign ministry said on Thursday, April 24th, in the latest diplomatic measure taken after an attack it blames on Islamabad.
“In the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack, the Government of India has decided to suspend visa services to Pakistani nationals with immediate effect,” the statement read. “All Pakistani nationals currently in India must leave India before the expiry of visas, as now amended.”
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi vowed on Thursday to punish those responsible for killing 26 civilians in Kashmir, after his government blamed arch-rival Pakistan for backing the gruesome attack.
India accused Pakistan of supporting “cross-border terrorism” in the tourist hotspot of Pahalgam, where shooters carried out the worst attack on civilians in contested Muslim-majority Kashmir for a quarter of a century.
While no group has claimed responsibility for the attack, Indian police have issued wanted notices for two Pakistanis and one Indian who they say are members of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) group, designated by the United Nations as a terrorist organisation.
On Thursday, Pakistan’s government also announced that visas issued to Indian nationals would be cancelled and that Indian defence, naval, and air Advisors in Islamabad have been declared persona non grata.
The statement added that borders would shut, trade would be cancelled, and airspace closed to Indian-owned or operated airlines.
