Islamabad: In a high-stakes security meeting held today, Pakistan’s top leadership threatened to suspend all bilateral agreements with India, including the historic Simla Agreement, in response to India’s recent measures following the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam. The Simla Agreement, signed in 1972, forms the basis for maintaining peace and recognizing the Line of Control in the Kashmir region.
Mirroring India’s diplomatic actions, Pakistan announced the suspension of visas issued under the SAARC visa exemption scheme and other categories, while also reducing the Indian diplomatic staff at its High Commission to 30, matching India’s earlier move.
However, the most serious escalation came in response to India’s decision to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty — a critical water-sharing agreement. Pakistan warned that any move to stop or divert the flow of the Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab rivers, which provide water to tens of millions, would be deemed an “Act of War” and would provoke a full-force retaliation.
With the country already facing an acute water crisis, Islamabad is deeply alarmed by the potential humanitarian and economic consequences of any disruption to river flows. The development marks a sharp deterioration in Indo-Pak ties and raises the spectre of broader regional instability.