Pakistan yesterday canceled visas for Indian nationals, closed its airspace for all Indian-owned or operated airlines, and suspended all trade with India, including to and from any third country.
The retaliatory measures follow India’s decision to suspend visas for Pakistani nationals in the aftermath of a deadly attack by shooters in Kashmir that killed 26 people, mostly tourists.
The rare attack on civilians shocked and outraged India and prompted calls for action against their country’s archenemy, Pakistan.
Photo: Reuters
New Delhi did not publicly produce 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.
In a statement issued yesterday, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said all visas issued to Pakistani nationals would be revoked with effect from Sunday. It also advised Indian citizens not to travel to Pakistan.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a speech in the eastern state of Bihar yesterday vowed to pursue, track and punish terrorists and their backers, after police said they identified two of the shooters as Pakistani.
Modi folded his hands in prayer in remembrance for the 26 men who were shot and killed in a meadow in the Pahalgam region of Indian Kashmir, exhorting thousands gathered at the venue to do the same.
“We will pursue them to the ends of the earth,” Modi said, referring to the attackers, without referring to their identities or naming Pakistan.
His comments are bound to further inflame ties between the nuclear-armed rivals after India late on Wednesday downgraded ties with Pakistan, suspending a six-decade old water treaty and closing the only land border crossing between the neighbors.
Pakistani Minister of Energy Awais Lekhari called the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty “an act of water warfare; a cowardly, illegal move.”
Police in Indian Kashmir yesterday published notices naming three suspected militants “involved in” the attack, and announced rewards for information leading to their arrest.
Two of the three suspected militants are Pakistani nationals, the notices said. They did not say how the men were identified.
India and Pakistan each control separate parts of Kashmir and both claim it in full.
Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri on Wednesday said a Cabinet committee on security was briefed on the cross-border linkages of the attack, the worst on civilians in the country in nearly two decades.
Misri did not offer any proof of the linkages or provide any more details.
Dozens of protesters yesterday gathered outside Pakistan’s embassy in New Delhi’s diplomatic enclave, shouting slogans and pushing against police barricades.
The Indus treaty, mediated by the World Bank and signed in 1960, regulated the sharing of waters of the Indus River and its tributaries between India and Pakistan. It has withstood two wars between the neighbors since then and severe strains in ties at other times.
A new online voting system aimed at boosting turnout among the Philippines’ millions of overseas workers ahead of Monday’s mid-term elections has been marked by confusion and fears of disenfranchisement. Thousands of overseas Filipino workers have already cast their ballots in the race dominated by a bitter feud between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and his impeached vice president, Sara Duterte. While official turnout figures are not yet publicly available, data from the Philippine Commission on Elections (COMELEC) showed that at least 134,000 of the 1.22 million registered overseas voters have signed up for the new online system, which opened on April 13. However,
EUROPEAN FUTURE? Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama says only he could secure EU membership, but challenges remain in dealing with corruption and a brain drain Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama seeks to win an unprecedented fourth term, pledging to finally take the country into the EU and turn it into a hot tourist destination with some help from the Trump family. The artist-turned-politician has been pitching Albania as a trendy coastal destination, which has helped to drive up tourism arrivals to a record 11 million last year. US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, also joined in the rush, pledging to invest US$1.4 billion to turn a largely deserted island into a luxurious getaway. Rama is expected to win another term after yesterday’s vote. The vote would
FRAUD ALLEGED: The leader of an opposition alliance made allegations of electoral irregularities and called for a protest in Tirana as European leaders are to meet Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama’s Socialist Party scored a large victory in parliamentary elections, securing him his fourth term, official results showed late on Tuesday. The Socialist Party won 52.1 percent of the vote on Sunday compared with 34.2 percent for an alliance of opposition parties led by his main rival Sali Berisha, according to results released by the Albanian Central Election Commission. Diaspora votes have yet to be counted, but according to initial results, Rama was also leading there. According to projections, the Socialist Party could have more lawmakers than in 2021 elections. At the time, it won 74 seats in the
ALLIES: Calling Putin his ‘old friend,’ Xi said Beijing stood alongside Russia ‘in the face of the international counter-current of unilateralism and hegemonic bullying’ Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday was in Moscow for a state visit ahead of the Kremlin’s grand Victory Day celebrations, as Ukraine accused Russia’s army of launching air strikes just hours into a supposed truce. More than 20 foreign leaders were in Russia to attend a vast military parade today marking 80 years since the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, taking place three years into Russia’s offensive in Ukraine. Putin ordered troops into Ukraine in February 2022 and has marshaled the memory of Soviet victory against Nazi Germany to justify his campaign and rally society behind the offensive,
RSS