India suspended a treaty to share water with Pakistan amid a diplomatic crisis caused by a deadly attack that New Delhi attributes to militants supported by Islamabad. Conflicts India
Tension rises between Pakistan and India after Pahalgam attack
Haroon Janjua from Islamabad
21 hours ago
India suspended a treaty to share water with Pakistan amid a diplomatic crisis caused by a deadly attack that New Delhi attributes to militants supported by Islamabad.
Pakistanis protest against a possible suspension of the water treaty between their country and India. Image: Anjum Naveed/AP Photo/picture alliance
Tensions between India and Pakistan are at their worst level in years. On Wednesday, India downgraded the level of its diplomatic relations with its neighbor, closed a key border crossing, and said it would suspend a water-sharing treaty until "Pakistan credibly and irrevocably renounces its support for cross-border terrorism."
Pakistan's Foreign Minister, Ishaq Dar, challenged India this Thursday, April 24, to provide any evidence linking his country to the attack that killed 26 people near the city of Pahalgam. "India has repeatedly engaged in the blame game. If it has any evidence of Pakistan's involvement in the Pahalgam incident, we urge them to share that information with us and the international community," said Dar.
In a speech this Thursday, in response to the attack, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that his country will "identify, pursue, and punish every terrorist and their sponsors."
According to reports from Indian media, there were between five and six attackers who fired for 10 minutes at the victims after emerging from nearby pine forests carrying rifles. Survivors said that the men approached the tourists and asked them their religion. They were asked to recite Islamic verses, and if they failed, they were shot.
India and Pakistan claim the entirety of the majority-Muslim province of Kashmir. However, each country only governs parts of it, turning that border point into a breeding ground for regional conflict where a decades-long insurgency has been operating in Indian-controlled areas.
