BSF scales down retreat events at Attari, 2 other places
NEW DELHI/CHANDIGARH, Apr 24:
India on Thursday announced suspending visa services to Pakistani nationals with immediate effect in line with its retaliatory measures against Islamabad in the wake of the brazen Pahalgam terror attack.
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The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said all existing valid visas issued by India to Pakistani nationals stand revoked with effect from April 27.
It said medical visas issued to Pakistani nationals will be valid only till April 29.
The MEA said all Pakistani nationals currently in India must leave the country before the expiry of visas.
It also strongly advised Indian nationals to avoid travelling to Pakistan and advised those currently in the neighbouring country to return home at the earliest.
Meanwhile, the BSF said it has “scaled down” the retreat ceremony held at Attari, Hussainiwala and Sadki along the India-Pakistan border in Punjab in the wake of the Pahalgam terrorist attack.
The Jalandhar-headquartered BSF’s Punjab frontier, which guards 532 km of this front out of the total 2,200 km, said in a statement that as part of a “calibrated decision”, it was “suspending” the symbolic handshake of the Indian guard commander with its counterpart and the border gates will remain closed during the ceremony.
These steps, it said, reflected “India’s serious concern over cross-border hostilities and reaffirms that peace and provocation cannot coexist”.
Officials said all other drills will continue and common people will be allowed to witness this daily flag-lowering ceremony.
The biggest event among the three locations takes place at the Attari border front, a joint or integrated land border check post. It is located about 26 km from Amritsar, opposite Wagah in Pakistan.
Hundreds of domestic visitors, foreign tourists and locals visit the Attari-Wagah border on either side daily to watch the flag-lowering and retreat ceremony conducted in a synchronised fashion by smartly-dressed BSF personnel along with their counterparts Pakistan Rangers.
Similar, but smaller, ceremonies take place at Hussainiwala (Ferozepur district) and Sadki (Abohar district) in Punjab.
India and Pakistan have been traditionally hosting the evening flag-lowering ceremonies at the Attari-Wagah border since 1959. The ceremony goes on for 45-50 minutes.
The synchronised ceremony is held in coordination between the two forces involving foot stomping manoeuvres and aggressive body postures by the troops with patriotic songs playing in the background on both sides.
The ceremony was stopped for a few months during the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The drill at Hussainiwala, opposite the Ganda Singh Wala village of Pakistan, also attracts a good number of people while the one at Sadki experiences very few footfalls from the public. It involves just the lowering of flags.
A fourth such drill takes place at Suchetgarh in Jammu but there are no locals involved there. The India International Border runs from Jammu in the north to Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat on India’s west.
Meanwhile, several Pakistani nationals visiting India started returning home through the Attari-Wagah land route in Amritsar on Thursday, a day after the Centre set a 48-hour deadline for them to leave the country.
The Centre on Wednesday announced a raft of measures, including expulsion of Pakistani military attaches, suspension of the Indus Water Treaty of 1960 and immediate shutting down of the Attari land-transit post in view of the cross-border links to the horrific terror attack in Kashmir’s Pahalgam that killed 26 civilians on Tuesday.
According to Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, Pakistani nationals will not be permitted to travel to India under the SAARC visa exemption scheme (SVES) and any Pakistani national currently in India under the SVES visa scheme had 48 hours to leave the country.
The decisions were taken by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which announced that the integrated check-post (ICP) at Attari will be closed with immediate effect and those who crossed over to Pakistan with valid documents may return through that route before May 1.
On Thursday morning, several Pakistani families reached the ICP in Amritsar to return to the neighbouring country through the Attari-Wagah land route.
A family from Karachi said they had gone to Delhi to meet their relatives.
“We came here (India) on April 15 and today we are returning home though we had a visa for 45 days,” said Shaikh Fazal Ahmad, a member of the family.
Responding to a question on the Pahalgam attack, Ahmad said, “Whosoever has done it is completely wrong. We want mutual brotherhood and friendship between the two nations. There should be no place for hatred. We don’t want hatred.”
Another Pakistani national named Mansoor said he along with his family came to India on a 90-day visa on April 15.
“But we are returning home today,” Mansoor said, as he condemned the Pahalgam attack, saying it shouldn’t have happened.
Another Pakistani national, Mustafa, said while the Pahalgam attack should never have happened, it was not a right decision to ask all Pakistanis to leave India.
Some Indian nationals with visas to travel to Pakistan also reached the ICP on Thursday, including a family from Gujarat intending to meet their relatives in Karachi.
“We got the visa two months back,” said an elderly member of the family.
When told that the Attari land-transit post had been shut, the elderly man said they were prepared to return home if asked.
Kanpur resident Seema said she needed to visit Karachi to meet her ailing sister.
“I want to go to Karachi. I have a visa for one month. My sister Chanda Aftab is in a very serious state,” Seema said.
When told about the closure of the land-transit post, she said, “What can I say.”
Two men from Rajasthan, who reached Amritsar on Wednesday evening to cross over to Pakistan, said they were unaware about the shutting down of the Attari land-transit post.
Meanwhile, many Indian tourists visiting Amritsar strongly condemned the terror attack and appealed to the Centre to take exemplary action against those behind the incident.
“Pakistan should be given a befitting reply,” a tourist from Nanded in Maharashtra said.
Meanwhile, India on Thursday informed Pakistan of its decision to keep Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance with immediate effect, saying Pakistan has breached conditions of the treaty.
Sustained cross-border terrorism by Pakistan targeting Jammu and Kashmir impedes India’s rights under the Indus Waters Treaty, India’s Secretary of Water Resources Debashree Mukherjee said in a letter addressed to her Pakistani counterpart, Syed Ali Murtaza.
“The obligation to honour a treaty in good faith is fundamental to a treaty. However, what we have seen instead is sustained cross-border terrorism by Pakistan targeting the Indian Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir,” the letter read.
“The resulting security uncertainties have directly impeded India’s full utilisation of its rights under the treaty,” the letter read.
The communication to Pakistan also highlighted “significantly altered population demographics, the need to accelerate the development of clean energy, and other changes” as reasons necessitating a re-assessment of the treaty’s obligations.
It also accused Pakistan of breaching the treaty by refusing to negotiate modifications, as required under Article XII(3).
“…apart from other breaches committed by it, Pakistan has refused to respond to India’s request to enter into negotiations as envisaged under the treaty and is thus in breach of the treaty,” the letter said.
“The Government of India has hereby decided that the Indus Waters Treaty 1960 will be held in abeyance with immediate effect,” it added. (PTI)
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