🇮🇳 India Summons Pakistani Diplomat After Kashmir Terror Attack
🔺 Delhi Closes Borders, Downgrades Diplomatic Ties Amid Rising Tensions
🔺 26 Tourists Killed in Brutal Attack; Pakistani Nationals Among Suspects
🔺 Fears of Renewed Conflict as Kashmir Faces Worst Violence in Years
New Delhi – India has summoned Pakistan’s top diplomat in Delhi and announced sweeping diplomatic downgrades in response to a deadly militant attack in Kashmir that killed 26 tourists. The charge d’affaires at the Pakistan embassy, Saad Ahmad Warraich, was summoned late Wednesday night by India’s Ministry of External Affairs, according to a senior ministry official.
This comes after India closed a key land border, suspended the Indus Water Treaty, and revoked visa exemptions for Pakistani citizens, in what New Delhi described as “necessary steps” following Tuesday’s massacre.
In a press briefing, Indian officials expressed “deep anguish” over the killings. The Ministry formally informed Warraich that all defence personnel at Pakistan’s mission in Delhi were being declared persona non grata and must leave within a week. Simultaneously, India will also withdraw its defence attaches from Islamabad and reduce its diplomatic staff there from 55 to 30.
Kashmir Police released wanted posters on Thursday naming three suspects believed to be involved in the attack—two of whom are Pakistani nationals. Rewards were announced for information leading to their capture.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called for an all-party meeting to brief political leaders on the situation and India’s response. Meanwhile, across the border, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is expected to convene a National Security Committee meeting, according to Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar.
The terrorist group Kashmir Resistance claimed responsibility, posting online that the attack was in response to the settlement of over 85,000 “outsiders” in Kashmir, allegedly leading to “demographic changes.” Survivors said the militants forced male tourists to recite Islamic verses and killed those who failed to comply.
This latest escalation comes amid already strained relations. Diplomatic ties have been fragile since India revoked Article 370 in 2019, stripping Jammu and Kashmir of its special status—an act that saw Pakistan expel the Indian envoy and leave its own ambassadorial post vacant in Delhi.
With security forces fanning out across the Himalayan region in pursuit of the attackers, concerns are rising that this latest bloodshed could trigger a broader confrontation between the two nuclear-armed neighbors.
