Pakistan’s decision to convene a high-level meeting follows India’s announcement of punitive measures against Islamabad in the wake of the deadly terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir.
Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has announced that the country’s top civilian and military leadership would convene on Thursday to formulate a response to India’s recent measures against Islamabad, including the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty.
The Indian government took several significant steps a day after the Pahalgam terror in Jammu and Kashmir which claimed the lives of 26 people, mostly civilians. In response to the attack, India placed the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance with immediate effect, closed the integrated check post at the Attari border, and downgraded diplomatic relations with Pakistan.
Asif stated, “A session of the National Security Committee will be held under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif,” noting that the decisions taken during the meeting would serve as “an appropriate response to the Indian steps.”
According to a PTI report, Thursday’s meeting in Islamabad will include the chiefs of Pakistan’s armed forces and key cabinet members. Such high-level meetings are typically held when national security issues require urgent deliberation.
Meanwhile, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi returned early from his state visit to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday in light of the Pahalgam terror attack. Upon his return, he chaired a high-level meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS).
A government statement following the CCS meeting highlighted the cross-border elements of the attack, noting that it occurred shortly after the peaceful conduct of elections in the Union Territory and amid ongoing economic development efforts.
In addition to suspending the Indus Waters Treaty and closing the Attari border post, India also announced the suspension of the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme for Pakistani nationals. Under this move, any Pakistani citizen currently in India on an SVES visa must leave the country within 48 hours.
The Resistance Front (TRF), believed to be a front for the banned Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba, has claimed responsibility for the Pahalgam attack.
