India, Pakistan Cancel Visas  04/24 07:04

   

   SRINAGAR, India (AP) -- India and Pakistan cancelled visas for their 
nationals to each other's countries Thursday amid rising tensions between the 
two nuclear armed neighbors after India blamed Pakistan for a deadly attack by 
gunmen that killed 26 people, mostly tourists, in disputed Kashmir.

   Indian authorities said all visas issued to Pakistani nationals will be 
revoked with effect from Sunday, adding that all Pakistanis currently in India 
must leave before their visas expire based on the revised timeline. The country 
also announced other measures, including cutting the number of diplomatic staff 
and closing the only functional land border crossing between the countries.

   In return, Pakistan closed its airspace for all Indian owned or Indian 
operated airlines, and suspended all trade with India including to and from any 
third country.

   Tuesday's attack was the worst assault in years targeting civilians in the 
restive region that has seen an anti-India rebellion for more than three 
decades.

   The rare attack, which targeted mostly tourists who were visiting a popular 
scenic meadow, shocked and outraged India and prompted calls for action against 
their country's archenemy, Pakistan. The Indian government did not publicly 
produce any evidence connecting the attack to its neighbor, but said it had 
"cross-border" links to Pakistan. Pakistan denied any connection to the attack, 
which was claimed by a previously unknown militant group that called itself the 
Kashmir Resistance.

   Pakistan's National Security Committee condemned India's "belligerent 
measures." It said that while Pakistan remained committed to peace, it would 
never allow anyone to "transgress its sovereignty, security, dignity and 
inalienable rights."

   India and Pakistan each administer a part of Kashmir, but both claim the 
territory in its entirety. New Delhi describes all militancy in Kashmir as 
Pakistan-backed terrorism. Pakistan denies this, and many Muslim Kashmiris 
consider the militants to be part of a home-grown freedom struggle.

   Domestic pressures on both sides

   The killings have put pressure on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu 
nationalist government to respond aggressively.

   At a public rally Thursday, Modi said "India will identify, track and punish 
every terrorist, their handlers and their backers."

   "We will pursue them to the ends of the earth," Modi said.

   His government announced a series of diplomatic actions against Islamabad 
while hinting at plans for more punishment.

   India's foreign secretary, Vikram Misri, announced Wednesday that a number 
of Pakistani diplomats were asked to leave New Delhi and Indian diplomats were 
recalled from Pakistan. Diplomatic missions in both countries will reduce their 
staff from 55 to 30 as of May 1, and the only functional land border crossing 
between the countries would be closed.

   India's foreign ministry advised Indians citizens not to travel to Pakistan 
and asked those currently there to return.

   India also suspended a landmark water-sharing treaty that has survived two 
wars between the countries, in 1965 and 1971, and a major border skirmish in 
1999.

   The Indus Water Treaty, brokered by the World Bank in 1960, allows for 
sharing the waters of a river system that is a lifeline for both countries, 
particularly for Pakistan's agriculture.

   Pakistan has responded angrily that it has nothing to do with the attack.

   In Islamabad and other cities in Pakistan, dozens of demonstrators rallied 
against India's suspension of a water sharing treaty, demanding their 
government retaliate.

   Pakistan warned that any Indian attempt to stop or divert flow of water 
between the two nations would be considered an "act of war" and met with "full 
force across the complete spectrum" of Pakistan's national power.

   "India has taken irresponsible steps and leveled allegations," Pakistan's 
Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar told local Dunya News TV channel.

   Fears of escalation

   Dar added that "any kinetic step by India will see a tit-to-tat kinetic 
response" from Pakistan, rekindling memories of February 2019 when a car 
suicide bombing in Kashmir brought the two countries to the verge of war.

   Modi overturned the status quo in Kashmir in August 2019, when his 
government revoked the region's semi-autonomous status and brought it under 
direct federal control.

   That deepened tensions in the region, but things with Pakistan held stable 
as the two countries in 2021 renewed a previous ceasefire agreement along their 
border, which has largely held despite attacks on

   The latest incident could once again raise the specter of conflict between 
two nuclear-armed neighbors that have long accused each other of backing forces 
to destabilize the other.

   Some experts say India may move beyond diplomatic sanctions as the country's 
media and leaders from Modi's ruling party call for military action.

   Defense Minister Rajnath Singh pledged Wednesday to "not only trace those 
who perpetrated the attack but also trace those who conspired to commit this 
nefarious act on our soil" and hinted at the possibility of military strikes.

   Ashok Malik, a former policy advisor in India's foreign ministry, said New 
Delhi's response reflected a high degree of anger within the administration and 
India's move on the Indus Water treaty "will impose costs on Pakistan's 
economy."

   Malik added that Indian leaders view military options as viable.

   "(India's) military strategists believe there is a space for kinetic 
conventional action under the nuclear umbrella. The space isn't infinite, but 
it isn't insignificant either," he said.

   Praveen Donthi, senior analyst with the International Crisis Group, said 
framing the Kashmir conflict as a security crisis of Pakistan's creation, 
"which can be resolved only through harsh talk and actions," brings political 
dividends to Modi's government but could also leave it with few options in 
times of crises.

   "The immense public pressure on the Modi government to retaliate strongly 
and militarily is self-created. Soon, there will be no options left unless New 
Delhi starts looking to address the roots of political unrest in Kashmir," 
Donthi said.

   Dismay in Kashmir

   The killings shocked residents of Kashmir, where militants fighting against 
Indian rule have rarely targeted tourists and have mainly mounted their attacks 
against Indian forces.

   In a rare show of public outrage, Kashmiris -- many of whom have roiled 
under an intense crackdown by Indian forces and New Delhi's highhanded rule -- 
took part in street protests and candle light marches in protest against the 
killings. Markets, private schools and businesses were shut Wednesday amid an 
uneasy calm as people worried that the attacks could drive away tourists and 
hurt the region's economy.

   Funerals of several of those killed were also held across some Indian cities.