India Pakistan Diplomatic Crackdown 2025 On Saturday, the government enacted a total ban on all imports from Pakistan, halted all postal services to and from the country, and banned Pakistani vessels from docking at Indian ports.
Following the lethal terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir on April 22 that resulted in 26 fatalities, including a foreign national from Nepal, the Centre has implemented numerous diplomatic measures against Pakistan due to its backing of cross-border terrorism. On Saturday, India made three audacious moves against Pakistan: the government enacted a total ban on all imports from Pakistan, halted all postal services to and from Pakistan, and forbade Pakistani vessels from docking at Indian ports.
Here is the full list of india major crackdowns against Pakistan after the Pahalgam terror attack:
1. All imports from Pakistan banned
In a notification dated May 2 from the Commerce and Industry Ministry, it was stated that, in order to close all loopholes and stop Pakistani goods from entering through any means, the government instituted an immediate ban on the importation and transit of all products coming from or being exported by Pakistan. This action comes in response to the Pahalgam terror attack, leading to the suspension of direct trade and the closure of the Integrated Check Post (ICP) at Attari on April 24. Although that measure put a stop to cross-border trade valued at Rs 3,886 crore, products from Pakistan continued to come into India through third-party countries.
The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) announced, “With immediate effect, all direct or indirect imports or transits of goods from or to Pakistan are prohibited until further notice. Any exceptions to this ban must be approved by the Government of India.” As per official records, India’s exports to Pakistan included soya bean, poultry feed, vegetables, red chillies, plastic granules, and plastic yarn. Conversely, its imports from Pakistan comprised dry fruits, dates, gypsum, cement, glass, rock salt, and herbs.
2. “India Pakistan maritime ties hit a new low as Indian ports ban entry of all Pakistani ships.
On Saturday, India prohibited the entry of Pakistani vessels at its ports and forbade Indian vessels from traveling to Pakistani ports.
As per a directive from India’s maritime authority, the Directorate General of Shipping (DGS), the restrictions were implemented “with immediate effect” and “till further order” to safeguard “Indian assets, cargo and connected infrastructure, in public interest and for the interest of Indian shipping”.
No ship that carries the flag of Pakistan shall be permitted to visit any port in India. In its order, exercising authority under section 411 of the Merchant Shipping Act, the DGS stated, “An Indian flag ship shall not visit any port of Pakistan.
Maritime trade between India and Pakistan has primarily been symbolic throughout history. The two countries share a maritime border in the Arabian Sea; however, due to a strained bilateral relationship, commercial ship movements have been limited.
3. All mail services from Pakistan suspended
On Saturday, the Government also suspended the exchange of mail and parcels with Pakistan via air and land routes, implementing new punitive measures against Islamabad due to cross-border connections.
As per a directive from the Department of Posts, Ministry of Communications, dispatched to the leaders of all postal circles nationwide, “the exchange of all categories of inbound mail and parcels from Pakistan via air and surface routes” has been halted.
However, in practice, postal services between the two countries have been suspended for the past five years after Islamabad “unilaterally stopped accepting postal bags from India” at the Wagah border (land route) and other exchange points, including air routes, in August 2019 following the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu & Kashmir. In the history of both countries, it was the first.
4. Pakistan YouTube channels, celebrity accounts banned
The Centre has prohibited 16 Pakistani YouTube channels, including prominent ones such as Dawn News, Samaa TV, ARY News, and Geo News, for spreading “provocative and communally sensitive content” and promoting false and misleading narratives about India, its Army, and security agencies. Also, the YouTube channels of ex-Pakistan cricket players Shoaib Akhtar and Basit Ali were blocked, and the Instagram accounts of various Pakistani celebrities—including Fawad Khan, Atif Aslam, Hania Aamir, and Mahira Khan—were disabled.
As per a report by the news agency PTI, Fawad Khan was poised to return to Bollywood after nearly nine years with “Abir Gulaal,” but the film’s release is now uncertain due to the attack..
5. Suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty
The Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) has endured four wars, decades of cross-border terrorism from Pakistan targeting India, and a prolonged history of enmity between the two nations. However, for the first time, New Delhi suspended it a day following the Pahalgam terror attack.
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri stated, “The Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 will be suspended immediately until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably renounces its support for cross-border terrorism.”
This suspension will stay in effect until Pakistan stops supporting cross-border terrorism. After nine years of negotiations between India and Pakistan, the IWT was signed in Karachi on September 19, 1960.
6. Closure of Attari Wagah border
After a week of intense cross-border movement, the Attari-Wagah border was completely shut down on May 1, following an order from the Union government for all Pakistani citizens on short-term visas to exit India. After the Integrated Check Post at Attari was shut down on April 25, more than 780 individuals from Pakistan have crossed the border, whereas approximately 1,560 people, comprising Indian citizens and Pakistanis with long-term visas, have traversed the border into India.
7.Cancellation of SAARC Visa exemption scheme (SVES) for Pakistani nationals
After a Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) meeting conducted the day after the Pahalgam terror attack, the Government declared that Pakistani nationals would be prohibited from traveling to India under the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme (SVES).
“All SVES visas that have been issued to Pakistani nationals in the past are considered cancelled. Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri stated, “Any Pakistani national currently in India with an SVES visa has 48 hours to leave India.”
The SVES, which was implemented in 1992, originated from a decision made at the 1988 SAARC Summit in Islamabad that allowed visa-free travel for certain categories of dignitaries within the region. The list currently comprises 24 categories of entitled individuals, including senior officials, higher court judges, parliamentarians, businesspeople, journalists, athletes, and others.
8. Expulsion of Pakistani Military Advisors
After the CCS meeting on April 24, India designated the Defence, Naval, and Air Advisors at the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi as persona non grata, granting them a week to exit the country. Additionally, the government declared that India will pull its Defence, Naval, and Air Advisors from the High Commission in Islamabad. The posts are annulled, and five support staff members from both missions will be withdrawn as well.
9.Reduction of Diplomatic Personnel
Effective May 1, India announced that it would reduce the overall number of its diplomatic personnel at the High Commission in Pakistan from 55 to 30.
10.Nine houses of suspected terrorists’ families demolished
In response to the Pahalgam attack, security forces have intensified their efforts against terrorism, demolishing at least nine houses owned by families of individuals sought for militancy in the Valley. The demolitions commenced with the residence of Adil Ahmad Thoker, a terrorist linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba and thought to have a role in the attack. In Pulwama, Bandipora, and Kupwara, houses belonging to other suspects were also demolished.
The attack on tourists in Baisaran, a meadow accessible only by off-road routes in South Kashmir’s Pahalgam, was claimed by the Resistance Front (TRF), a clandestine organization affiliated with the outlawed Pakistan-based terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).
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