India Downgrades Ties with Pakistan After Deadly Kashmir Attack
India has summoned Pakistan’s top diplomat in New Delhi and announced a series of strong measures to downgrade bilateral ties following a deadly militant attack in Kashmir that killed 26 civilians. Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri attributed the attack to cross-border involvement and revealed that India will suspend the long-standing Indus Water Treaty, close the only land crossing between the two nations, and drastically reduce its diplomatic staff in Islamabad from 55 to 30.
Misri also declared all Pakistani defence advisers in New Delhi as persona non grata, giving them a week to leave. In response to the attack, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for an all-party meeting to brief opposition leaders on the government’s course of action. Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif convened a National Security Committee meeting to formulate Islamabad’s response, according to Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar.
The Indus Water Treaty, brokered by the World Bank in 1960, had endured despite previous conflicts between the two nuclear-armed neighbours. However, the latest attack — the deadliest on civilians in nearly two decades — has heightened tensions and underscored the fragile state of India-Pakistan relations. Diplomatic ties have remained strained since 2019, when India revoked Jammu and Kashmir’s special status, prompting Pakistan to expel India’s envoy and leave its own ambassadorial post in New Delhi vacant.
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