Amit Shah Dials All CMs; Orders Identification, Deportation Of Pakistani Nationals

The Home Ministry has directed all states to identify and deport Pakistani nationals within their jurisdictions, reported NDTV on Friday, adding that Home Minister Amit Shah had spoken to every chief minister on the matter.

This comes after India announced on Wednesday the cancellation of all visas issued to Pakistani nationals, as part of a five-pronged diplomatic response following the terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir.

Photo Credit: PTI

The government confirmed that all such visas would be revoked with effect from April 27. Medical visas, however, would remain valid for an additional 48 hours.

India has asserted it possesses evidence of Pakistan's involvement in both the planning and execution of the attack.

On Thursday, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri presented this evidence to senior diplomats from the United States, United Kingdom, Italy, France, Germany, Russia, and China.

The suspension of visas is one of five key steps taken by India.

Additionally, India has suspended the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), a key bilateral agreement governing the use of the Indus River and its tributaries-the Beas, Chenab, Jhelum, Ravi, and Sutlej.

Pakistan retaliated by enacting similar measures, describing the suspension of the IWT as "an act of war".

In response, Islamabad declared the Simla Agreement suspended and also closed its airspace to Indian-operated or Indian-owned aircraft.

The Pahalgam terror attack on Tuesday afternoon claimed the lives of 26 people, including tourists and civilians, at Baisaran Valley. Shocking footage circulated on social media showed five armed terrorists selectively targeting men with automatic weapons.

In one clip, a terrorist was seen sneering at a woman and saying, "go tell (Prime Minister) Modi".

Among those killed was a newlywed Navy officer, who had been on a brief holiday with his wife.

This attack is the deadliest on Indian soil since the February 2019 Pulwama incident, in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed by the banned Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed.

A faction of Lashkar-e-Taiba, another proscribed group based in Pakistan, has claimed responsibility for the Pahalgam assault, which was allegedly carried out by at least three terrorists who remain at large, despite an extensive manhunt.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered a strong message to the international community.

Speaking at an event in Bihar, he switched to English and declared, "From the soil of Bihar, I am telling the world that India will identify and punish every terrorist, and those behind them."

Modi has vowed to exact revenge on all those responsible and has stated that his government will ensure the terrorists' "evil agenda" does not succeed.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh echoed this sentiment at an event in Delhi, asserting, "We won't only punish the monsters who carried out this act of brutality and barbarianism, we will also reach those who hid behind a curtain to carry out this conspiracy."

The government also convened an all-party meeting on Thursday to brief political leaders on the situation.