Pakistan threatens war on India

Pakistan said it was closing its airspace to Indian-owned or operated airlines, suspending all trade, including through third countries, and halting the issuance of special South Asian visas to Indian citizens. For its part, India ordered all Pakistani citizens, except diplomats, to leave the territory by April 29, also announced the closure of the main land border crossing between the two countries and the withdrawal of diplomats.

This was reported by the BBC and Reuters on Thursday, April 24.

Relations between the two nuclear-armed countries, which have already survived three wars, have fallen to their lowest level in recent years. Pakistan said it would exercise the right to suspend all bilateral agreements with India until New Delhi stops "fomenting terrorism in Pakistan." Pakistan has also threatened that any attempt to stop the flow of water under the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty would be considered an “act of war and will be met with full force across the spectrum of national power.”

The World Bank-brokered water treaty divided the Indus River and its tributaries between its neighbors and regulated the sharing of water. Pakistan is heavily dependent on water flowing downstream from India for hydropower and irrigation. Suspending the treaty would allow India to deny Pakistan its share of the water.

This came after India’s external affairs ministry announced the suspension of all visa services for Pakistanis and the cancellation of visas already issued.

India has taken the following measures against Pakistan:

• Suspending the landmark Indus Waters Treaty, which allowed for the sharing of river waters between its neighbors;
• Closing a key border crossing with Pakistan that allowed the movement of people and goods;
• Suspending all visa services for Pakistani citizens;
• Declaring military advisors at the Pakistani High Commission in Delhi "persona non grata" and ordering them to leave within a week;
• Reducing the number of Pakistani diplomats in India from 55 to 30 from May 1.

In response, Pakistan has implemented an almost identical set of measures against India:

• Refusing to accept India's suspension of the water treaty, saying that any attempt to stop or divert water "will be considered an act of war";
• Suspending all visas issued to Indian citizens;
• Suspending all bilateral agreements with India;
• Reducing the number of diplomats at the Indian High Commission in Islamabad to 30;
• Immediately closing the Wagah border;
• Closing Pakistan's airspace to all airlines owned or operated by India;
• Suspending all trade with India.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, a militant attack occurred in Indian-administered Kashmir, killing at least 26 people.

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