The Indian government is determined to strike at the roots of terrorism and there is a collective will among all political parties and the entire nation to deliver the decisive blow to terrorists and to locate and capture those savages who participated in the brutal, savage crime involving the slaughter of 26 innocent, unarmed tourists. The Pahalgam massacre is not just an attack on innocent Hindu tourists, but an unrivaled assault on tourism, economy, peace and tranquility, but above all on Insaniyet and Kashmiriyat. The Modi government has begun the political and diplomatic strike against Pakistan before resorting to surgical and air strikes against the enemy nation. In the wake of the brutal terrorist attack in the Pahalgam area of Jammu and Kashmir where sadly 26 lives have been extinguished, India has successfully applied political, diplomatic and strategic pressure on Pakistan as states sponsor of cross-country terrorism. This political / diplomatic move will strike at the very roots of terrorism and drain Pakistan economically and impact the agricultural base of that state.
Modi has correctly expressed in unequivocal terms that Pahalgam terrorist massacre is not just an attack on innocent civilians but is an assault on the very soul of India and therefore , the terrorism and its masters in Pakistan will be punished. The diplomatic and political strike at Pakistan is unprecedented in history as such strike had never been taken at any time during 35 plus years of terrorism. It is hoped therefore that the current political and diplomatic strike will achieve its desired aim and curb the terrorism fed from Pakistan. The attack which ultimately targeted tourists in the Baisaran valley, was subsequently claimed by The Resistance Front- a split off from the banned Pakistan based and backed terror organization, Lashkar-e-Taiba. Describing the massacre as a direct assault on India’s peace and progress, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said," I will hunt down and punish every terrorist and their backers. India will identify, trace and punish every terrorist and their backers. We will pursue them to the ends of Planet Earth. India’s spirit will never be broken by terrorism", PM said in a firm message from Bihar.
Following a high level review by the Cabinet committee on Security-CCS ,chaired by the prime minister, India announced a set of stringent measures in response to the cross-border links of the attack. The following unprecedented diplomatic and political countermeasures have been taken to strike at the roots of Pak sponsored terrorism:
1. Suspension of Indus Water Treaty - On September 28th, 2022, India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 with immediate effect. This is the first time, the Government of India has suspended IWT. This will have adverse effects on the agriculture, a fragile economy and the people. IWT is in abeyance until Pakistan stops exporting and sponsoring terroristic activities on India’s soil and in Jammu and Kashmir. New Delhi has suspended the water-sharing treaty, announced the closure of the main land border crossing with Pakistan. This closure is also going to have a negative impact on the power production in Pakistan, and the irrigation possibilities of various types of farms and other produce. Pakistan’s reaction to the suspension of IWT was opponent's act of war cry. In fact, this measure will strike at the very roots of terrorism.
2. Asks Pakistani Nationals to leave India within 48 hours.
3. India cancels visas for SAARC visa to Pakistani citizens, with immediate effect. India tells Pakistani citizens to leave. Earlier on Thursday, India slapped Pakistan with a range of mostly symbolic diplomatic measures recently, but analysts caution a military response may yet happen. Some predict that it could happen within days, while others speculate it will take weeks. Downsizing diplomatic ties and suspend visas for Pakistanis on Wednesday night, just more than 24 hours after gunmen killed 26 men in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam. New Delhi has suspended visas and with immediate effect ordered that all Pakistanis leave the country, excluding remaining diplomata.
4. India decreases the strength of its embassy at Pakistan from 55 to 30.
In addition to this, India also attempted to isolate Pakistan on the world stage by convening a meeting of leading diplomats and envoys shortly after the Pahalgam attack. In every madder of fact a furious India was compelled to respond to what amounted to a thoroughly brutal massacre of 26 tourists by terrorists in Pahalgam with a series of punitive diplomatic actions that suggested further death-dealing retaliation might be forthcoming. The retaliatory response, the strongest since the response to the 2019 Pulwama attack which included punitive measures across the board, trade, diplomatic relations, soft power, visa regime and social media. The multi-faceted response did not stop there, India also attempted to isolate Pakistan on the world stage by holding a meeting of senior diplomats and envoys from the US, UK, EU, Italy, Qatar, Japan, China, Russia, Germany, France and others to discuss the events in Pahalgam involving terrorists from Pakistan. As showed clearly on Thursday, PM Modi stated last week that India was not finished with its retaliatory measures. PM said, "India will identify, trace, and punish every terrorist and their backers. We will pursue them to the ends of the Earth." putting the matter of but just the diplomatic responses in concrete terms could be as follows:
1. In an unprecedented move, India suspended all visa services, including medical visas ,to Pakistani nationals with immediate effect. All Pakistani nationals have been asked to leave India while Delhi advised its nationals to avoid travelling to Pakistan.
2. India has also cancelled all visas granted to certain categories of Pakistani nationals under SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme-SVES. Those in the country have been asked to leave by Friday evening.
3. The official X account of the Pakistani government has also been suspended, in India, with a message stating the account has been withheld due to a legal demand.
4. Another strong strategy was the closure of the Wagah-Attari border in Punjab , the only land crossing between the two countries. The measure effectively stops cross border trade, negatively impacting thousands of small traders and manufactures.
5. As well as suspending the Indus Waters Treaty, which survived three wars and terror attacks, including the 26/11 and Pulwama, is another move that will further weaken Pakistan and affect its agricultural sector.
6. India has also expelled the Pakistani air, navy and army advisers, declaring them persona non grata and cut the diplomatic strength from the already downgraded 55 to 30.
7. The Border Security Force - BSF also ‘scaled down’ the retreat ceremony held at Attari, Hussainiwala and Sadki along the India-Pakistan border in Punjab.
8. Soft power was also causality. Until bilateral cricketing ties are resumed, government sources have called Pakistani actor Fawad Khan’s comeback film Abir Gulal would not be allowed to release. The release date set for 9 May has witnessed calls to boycott the film. India’s economy strike will hit the very roots of Pak economy. Trade, business, exports and imports. There will be a greater impediment on trade that has been reduced by more than half since 2018, include trade experts and analyst. Furthermore, a trade loss will be devastating to the pharmacy sector in Pakistan if India has some supply cuts. All selected trade routes by Pakistan third countries to any country will be severely disrupted. In summary all the above are non-violent but diplomatic and political measures that should be complemented by military combat on the terrorist camps existing on the territory of POK and Pakistan.
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