New Delhi:
Massive protests have erupted outside the Pakistan High Commission in the national capital amid heightened tensions between Delhi and Islamabad over the recent terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir‘s Pahalgam, which resulted in the deaths of 26 people.
Visuals from outside the Pakistan High Commission, located in Chanakyapuri, Delhi’s diplomatic enclave, show a large crowd gathered outside the building, with police forces trying to pacify it.
Earlier in the day, India withheld access to the official X (formerly Twitter) account of the Government of Pakistan. The move follows New Delhi’s announcement of a series of stringent retaliatory measures, including the suspension of the decades-old Indus Waters Treaty and the expulsion of senior Pakistani diplomatic staff.
“When it comes to national security, political parties should abandon ideology and unite for the country. It is good to see that everyone is standing together. Whatever decisions the government has taken so far are encouraging,” a protester told NDTV.
The Pakistan High Commission has been heavily barricaded with police personnel deployed
A Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was convened yesterday to determine India’s response to the April 23 attack in Pahalgam, which left 25 Indian citizens and one Nepali national dead. The CCS decided to take sweeping action against the neighbouring country, which New Delhi accuses of harbouring and supporting cross-border terrorism.
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri announced yesterday that there will be a downgrade of diplomatic missions in each country. Both the Indian and Pakistani high commissions will reduce their personnel strength from 55 to 30, to be completed by May 1.
India has also expelled all defence, naval, and air advisors from the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi. These individuals have been declared persona non grata and instructed to leave the country within a week. Mr Misri announced that India will withdraw its military advisors from its own high commission in Islamabad. Five support staff assigned to the service advisors in both missions will also be recalled.
