India has summoned Pakistan’s senior-most diplomat in New Delhi, local media reported Thursday, as tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbors escalate following a deadly attack in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
The diplomatic move comes a day after New Delhi announced a series of retaliatory steps in response to the killing of 26 civilians in the Anantnag district of IIOJK — the deadliest such incident in nearly two decades. Indian officials allege cross-border involvement in the attack, which targeted a tourist site.
In response, Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri announced sweeping measures to downgrade ties with Islamabad. These include suspending the decades-old Indus Waters Treaty — a water-sharing agreement brokered by the World Bank — closing the only operational land border crossing between the two countries, and significantly reducing the Indian diplomatic mission in Pakistan from 55 to 30 staff members.
Misri further stated that India would withdraw its defence attachés from Pakistan and had declared all Pakistani defence advisers in New Delhi persona non grata, giving them a week to leave.
In a show of political unity, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called an all-party meeting on Thursday to brief opposition leaders on the government’s response and future steps.
In Islamabad, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is convening a National Security Committee (NSC) meeting to formulate Pakistan’s official response, according to Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, who shared the development on X (formerly Twitter).
The Indus Waters Treaty, which governs the sharing of the Indus River and its tributaries, had withstood several wars and periods of high tension between the two countries. India now says it will place the treaty in abeyance, further raising concerns about future cooperation on shared resources.
Diplomatic relations between India and Pakistan have remained strained since 2019, when New Delhi revoked the special constitutional status of IIOJK. Pakistan expelled India’s envoy in protest and has yet to appoint a new ambassador to New Delhi.
