India Slashes Ties with Pakistan After Deadly Kashmir Tourist Attack

Sarah Johnson
April 24, 2025
Brief
India downgrades diplomatic ties with Pakistan after a deadly Kashmir attack kills 26, suspends Indus water treaty, expels diplomats, and tightens border controls amid rising tensions.
India has sharply downgraded diplomatic relations with Pakistan following a brutal attack that left 26 men dead at a tourist spot in Kashmir. The attack, believed to be the worst targeting civilians in India in nearly two decades, took place in the picturesque Baisaran valley of Jammu and Kashmir, shattering a period of relative calm in the region.
Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri announced the measures after a top-level security meeting. The government is immediately suspending a key river water treaty that governs sharing of the Indus river system with Pakistan—a move that could have major ripples, given how vital those waters are for both countries.
In another major diplomatic slap, India's asked the defense advisers in the Pakistani high commission to pack their bags and leave, and said it will trim its own diplomatic staff in Islamabad from 55 to just 30. The main border crossing between the two countries is now closed, and Pakistani nationals have lost their special visa privileges for travel to India.
The deadly shooting in Baisaran valley, which also injured at least 17 people, targeted a group that included 25 Indian nationals and one from Nepal, according to police. In the aftermath, a little-known group called the "Kashmir Resistance" claimed responsibility, citing anger over what it calls a "demographic change" in the region because of the settlement of tens of thousands of "outsiders." Indian security agencies claim this group is basically a new mask for notorious Pakistan-based outfits like Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hizbul Mujahideen.
As expected, Pakistan has denied all allegations of supporting militant violence, insisting it only offers "moral, political and diplomatic" backing for the insurgency in Kashmir. Meanwhile, the attack has reignited fears in the region, which had recently seen a boom in tourism as violence ebbed.
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Editor's Comments
Cutting off water and visas in one go? That's one way to say you're not coming over for tea anytime soon. Somewhere, a border checkpoint just went from being a bottleneck to the world's loneliest parking lot.
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