INDIA SHUTS BORDER WITH PAKISTAN; ISLAMBAD TO HOLD SECURITY COMMITTEE MEETING

Wed 23 April 2025:

India’s Foreign Ministry said Pakistani nationals will not be allowed to travel to India under the SAARC visa exemption programme. Any visas previously issued under this scheme “are deemed cancelled” and any Pakistani national in India with one of these visas has 48 hours to leave.

India’s defence minister has pledged a swift response to those who carried out and planned the Pahalgam attack that killed 26 people, all men, in Indian-administered Kashmir.

Pakistan’s PM to hold security committee meeting tomorrow

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has announced that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is convening the National Security Committee “to respond to the Indian Government’s statement”.

The committee will meet on Thursday morning, Dar said in a social media post.

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India’s central government to hold all-party meeting tomorrow

India’s central government will hold an all-party meeting on Thursday, with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh set to chair the session, the Indian news agency ANI reported.

The announcement of the meeting comes after India’s foreign secretary issued a list of measures the government will implement as a result of the attack that killed 26 people, including on Pakistani military officials, who were declared persona non grata.

Security forces under fire during search in Tangmarg

A gunfight broke out in the Tangmarg area in south Kashmir after security forces, which had cordoned off the area, were searching to find fighters.

According to the Financial Express news outlet, security reinforcements rushed to the area.

Since the Pahalgam attack, security has ramped up across the Kashmir valley, including personnel from the Indian Army, Central Reserve Police Force and Jammu and Kashmir Police.

Additional checkpoints have also been erected on highways and other sensitive areas.

The news outlet added that earlier, the Chinar Corps regiment of the Indian Army had reported another encounter in the Baramulla area.

Police detain 1,500 people in Jammu and Kashmir after attack

Indian police have detained some 1,500 people across Jammu and Kashmir as part of an investigation.

Security forces have released a photograph of sketches of the suspected attackers, as per the sources and information we’ve received.

The attackers fought for 20 minutes, continuously using automatic rifles. Those involved in the attack are members of the Kashmir Resistance Front, an offshoot of the banned outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba.

Key takeaways from India foreign secretary’s address

India’s foreign secretary has pledged an “unrelenting” pursuit of those responsible for the deadly attacks in the Kashmir region.

Here are some major talking points from his news conference:

Pakistani nationals will not be allowed to travel to India under the SAARC visa exemption programme. Visas already issued “are deemed cancelled”.
India is closing the Attari border crossing with Pakistan with immediate effect.
Pakistani military advisers at the country’s High Commission in New Delhi have been declared “persona non grata” and have one week to leave.
India will be withdrawing its own military advisers from the High Commission in Islamabad.
The Indus Waters Treaty, a water allocation pact between India and Pakistan, will be suspended with immediate effect.

‘Individuals targeted in Pahalgam not ordinary tourists’: TRF

The Resistance Front (TRF), a little-known Kashmiri rebel group that claimed responsibility for Tuesday’s attack in Pahalgam, issued a fresh statement on Wednesday, saying the “individuals targeted were not ordinary tourists”.

“[Instead], they were linked to and affiliated with Indian security agencies,” it said, adding that it would step up its activities in the region.

“It was not a typical tourist group, but rather an undercover agency tasked with research.”

TRF said the attack should “serve as a wake-up call not only for Delhi but also for those who support Delhi’s questionable strategies”.

What does the attack mean for Modi’s Kashmir policy?

Some experts believe that being caught off guard is the outcome of holes in the Modi government’s Kashmir policy.

Modi and India’s Home Minister Amit Shah have repeatedly made claims of “normalcy” in Kashmir since the region’s semi-autonomous status was revoked in 2019.

“There is no normalcy in Kashmir. And this ‘normalcy’ narrative is the most unfortunate thing about the Kashmir policy of this government,” said Ajai Sahni, executive director of South Asia Terrorism Portal, a platform that tracks and analyses armed attacks in South Asia.

“First, zero militancy in Kashmir is an impossible objective to realise, at least in the absence of a political solution within the state.

“Secondly, the normalcy narrative creates a situation where groups are encouraged to engineer attacks.” That, he said, is because they know that “even if a small attack occurs, it is not normal anymore”.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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