Further, a formal letter has been written to BBC for terming terrorists as militants. This comes days after the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, which killed 16 civilians. India has taken a string of diplomatic actions on Pakistan. On April 23, India downgraded diplomatic ties with Pakistan and announced a series of measures including expulsion of Pakistani military attaches, suspension of the over six-decade-old Indus Water Treaty and immediate shutting down of the Attari land-transit post.
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said the cross-border linkages to the Pahalgam attack was “brought out” in a briefing to the CCS following which it decided to take the measures against Pakistan. The new retaliatory actions shut down the few existing diplomatic mechanisms between the two sides taking bilateral relations to another new low.
A day later, Pakistan retaliated by suspending the 1972 Simla Agreement, blocked its airspace for Indian airlines, closed the Wagah border crossing, paused all trade with India, and said any attempt to divert water meant for Pakistan under the Indus Water Treaty will be considered an Act of War.
The announcements were made after a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to formulate the country’s response to India’s move to suspend the Indus Water Treaty and downgrade diplomatic ties after the Pahalgam terror attack.
