India Halts Visa Services For Pakistanis, Cites Retaliation Over Terror Strike

India on Thursday announced suspending visa services to Pakistani nationals with immediate effect in line with its retaliatory measures against Islamabad in the wake of the brazen Pahalgam terror attack. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said all existing valid visas issued by India to Pakistani nationals stand revoked with effect from April 27.

It said medical visas issued to Pakistani nationals will be valid only till April 29. The MEA said all Pakistani nationals currently in India must leave the country before the expiry of visas. It also strongly advised Indian nationals to avoid travelling to Pakistan and advised those currently in the neighbouring country to return home at the earliest.

India on Wednesday downgraded diplomatic ties with Pakistan and announced a raft of measures including expulsion of Pakistani military attaches, suspension of the Indus Water Treaty of 1960 and immediate shutting down of the Attari land-transit post in view of the cross-border links to the Pahalgam attack that killed 26 people. The punitive measures against Pakistan were decided at a meeting of Cabinet Committee on Security headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.