Tensions Escalate: Pakistan Closes Wagah Border, Threatens to Scrap Shimla Agreement
New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu ) : Pakistan, enraged by India's tough decision after the Pahalgam terrorist attack, has announced to end trade with India. Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif called a meeting of the National Security Committee (NSC) on Thursday. India responded by taking tough steps and suspending the Indus Water Treaty. Pakistan is furious after this action of India. Pakistan has closed its airspace for Indian airlines and also closed the Wagah border crossing. Apart from this, Pakistan has also warned of cancelling the Shimla Agreement.
In this meeting, the tough decisions of the Indian government were discussed for about two hours. In the meeting, the Pakistan government announced to end trade relations with India. Along with this, Pakistan has closed its airspace for Indian planes. On India's suspension of the Indus Water Treaty, Pakistan said that stopping water is an act of war. Pakistan's National Security Committee (NSC) has rejected India's allegations and called them baseless and fabricated. The NSC says that New Delhi's campaign to target Pakistan over the Pahalgam attack is completely based on lies. In this connection, the NSC has decided to expel the Indian Defense, Navy and Air Force advisors posted in the Indian High Commission in Islamabad and they and their supporting staff have been ordered to leave Pakistan by April 30.
Along with this, it has been decided that the number of diplomatic staff in the Indian High Commission will be limited to 30 officers and the same rule will be equally applicable to the Pakistan High Commission in India. The NSC has strongly opposed India's decision to unilaterally suspend the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) and has announced to raise this issue at the World Bank and other international forums. The committee says that the World Bank is a party to this treaty, so India does not have the right to take any unilateral decision on it. Apart from this, the NSC has also decided to close the Wagah-Attari border in response to India's closure of the border. The committee has expressed satisfaction over the preparations of Pakistan's armed forces and said that if India dares to do anything, it will be given a strict response. Pakistan has hit back at India and accused it of spreading unrest in the country and said that Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav was caught in Pakistan. He had admitted to being involved in terrorist activities on India's instructions. The NSC described India's recent decisions as part of the anti-Pakistan agenda of the Modi government.
According to a statement issued by the Pakistan Prime Minister's Office, in the recent meeting of the NSC, grief was expressed over the death of tourists in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir. Along with this, the steps taken by India on April 23 were described as unilateral, unjust, politically motivated, irresponsible and devoid of legal basis. At the same time, the committee once again described Kashmir as an 'unresolved international dispute' between India and Pakistan.
