Indus Waters Treaty to import ban: India’s 10 key crackdowns against Pakistan after Pahalgam attack | India News

Here is the full list of major crackdowns against Pakistan after the Pahalgam terror attack:

1. 01
   

   All imports from Pakistan banned

   To plug all loopholes and prevent the entry of Pakistani goods through any channel, the government imposed an immediate ban on the import and transit of all goods originating from or exported by Pakistan, according to a May 2 notification from the Commerce and Industry Ministry. This move follows the suspension of direct trade and the closure of the Integrated Check Post (ICP) at Attari on April 24, in response to the Pahalgam terror attack. While that step halted cross-border trade worth Rs 3,886 crore, Pakistani goods were still entering India via third countries.

   “Direct or indirect import or transit of all goods originating in or exported from Pakistan, whether or not freely importable or otherwise permitted, shall be prohibited with immediate effect, until further orders,” the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said. Any exception to this prohibition shall require approval of the Government of India, it said.

   According to official data, India primarily exported items such as soya bean, poultry feed, vegetables, red chillies, plastic granules and plastic yarn, while importing dry fruits, dates, gypsum, cement, glass, rock salt and herbs from Pakistan.

2. 02
   

   No Pakistani ships allowed in Indian ports

   India on Saturday banned the entry of Pakistani ships at Indian ports, while also barring Indian ships from going to Pakistani ports.

   According to an order issued by India’s maritime authority, Directorate General of Shipping (DGS), the restrictions were put in place “with immediate effect” and “till further order” to ensure safety of “Indian assets, cargo and connected infrastructure, in public interest and for the interest of Indian shipping”.

   A ship bearing the flag of Pakistan shall not be allowed to visit any Indian port. An Indian flag ship shall not visit any port of Pakistan,” the DGS said in its order, exercising power under section 411 of the Merchant Shipping Act.

   Historically, maritime trade between India and Pakistan has largely been symbolic. Both nations have a maritime border in the Arabian Sea, but a strained bilateral relationship has kept commercial ship movements restricted.

3. 03
   

   All mail services from Pakistan suspended

   The Government on Saturday also halted the exchange of mail and parcels with Pakistan, through both air and land routes, as it imposed fresh punitive measures on Islamabad in view of the cross border linkages.

   According to an order issued by the Department of Posts, Ministry of Communications, and sent to the heads of all postal circles across the country, “the exchange of all categories of inbound mail and parcels from Pakistan through air and surface routes” has been suspended.

   However, practically, the postal services between the two countries have remained suspended for the last five years now, after Islamabad had “unilaterally stopped accepting postal bags from India” at Wagah border (land route) and other points of exchange including air route in August 2019 following abrogation of Article 370 from Jammu & Kashmir. It was the first in the history of both the countries.

4. 04
   

   Pakistan YouTube channels, celebrity accounts banned

   The Centre has banned 16 Pakistani YouTube channels, including some leading channels like Dawn News, Samaa TV, ARY News, and Geo News, for disseminating “provocative and communally sensitive content” and circulating false, misleading narratives against India, its Army, and security agencies. Former Pakistan cricketers Shoaib Akhtar and Basit Ali also had their YouTube channels blocked, while Instagram accounts of several Pakistani celebrities—including Fawad Khan, Atif Aslam, Hania Aamir, and Mahira Khan—have been disabled.

   Fawad Khan was set to make his Bollywood comeback after almost nine years with “Abir Gulaal”, the release of which is now in limbo following the attack, news agency PTI reported.

5. 05
   

   Suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty

   The Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), which has survived four wars, decades of cross-border terrorism against India by Pakistan, and a long history of antagonism between the two countries, was suspended for the first time by New Delhi a day after the Pahalgam terror attack.

   “The Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 will be held in abeyance with immediate effect, until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism,” Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said.

   This suspension will remain in effect until Pakistan ceases its support for cross-border terrorism. The IWT was signed in Karachi on September 19, 1960, following nine years of negotiations between India and Pakistan.

6. 06
   

   Closure of Attari Wagah border

   The Attari-Wagah border was fully closed on May 1 following a week-long heavy cross-border movement, after the Union government ordered all Pakistani citizens on short-term visas to leave India. Since the closure of the Integrated Check Post at Attari on April 25, over 780 Pakistani nationals have gone across the border, while around 1,560 people, including Indian citizens and Pakistanis holding long-term visas, have walked across the border to India.

7. 07
   

   Cancellation of SAARC Visa exemption scheme (SVES) for Pakistani nationals

   Following a Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) meeting held a day after the Pahalgam terror attack, the Government announced that Pakistani nationals will no longer be allowed to travel to India under the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme (SVES).

   “Any SVES visas issued in the past to Pakistani nationals are deemed cancelled. Any Pakistani national currently in India under SVES visa has 48 hours to leave India,” Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said.

   Introduced in 1992, the SVES was based on a decision made at the 1988 SAARC Summit in Islamabad, granting visa-free travel to certain categories of dignitaries within the region. Currently, the list included 24 categories of entitled persons, which include senior officials, judges of higher courts, parliamentarians, businessmen, journalists, sportspersons etc.

8. 08
   

   Expulsion of Pakistani Military Advisors

   Following the CCS meet on April 24, India declared the Defence, Naval, and Air Advisors at the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi as persona non grata, giving them a week to leave the country. The government also announced that India will withdraw its own Defence, Naval, and Air Advisors from the High Commission in Islamabad. These posts stand annulled, and five support staff from both missions will also be withdrawn.

9. 09
   

   Reduction of Diplomatic Personnel

   India also announced a reduction in the overall strength of its diplomatic staff at the High Commission in Pakistan from 55 to 30, effective May 1.

10. 10
    

    Nine houses of suspected terrorists’ families demolished

    Cracking down on terror following the Pahalgam attack, security forces have blown up at least nine houses belonging to families of those wanted for militancy in the Valley. The demolitions started with the house of Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist Adil Ahmad Thoker, believed to be involved in the attack. Houses of other suspects were also destroyed in Pulwama, Bandipora, and Kupwara.

The Resistance Front (TRF), a shadow group of the banned Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terror group, claimed responsibility for the attack on the tourists in Baisaran, an off-road meadow in South Kashmir’s Pahalgam.

A day after India took a series of steps against Pakistan in response to the attack, the neighbouring country on Thursday (April 24) responded by suspending the 1972 Simla agreement. Signed by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Pakistani President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto after the 1971 war, it was considered a crucial peace treaty between India and Pakistan.