In its first decisive move following the brutal cross-border terror attack in Pahalgam that claimed 26 lives and left many injured, the Cabinet Committee on Security—chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi—took sweeping actions on Wednesday to isolate Pakistan. Diplomatic ties have been sharply downgraded, with Pakistani military attachés expelled and mission staff capped at 30 by May 1. The 1960 Indus Waters Treaty has been frozen, cutting off water-sharing obligations. The Attari Integrated Check Post was shut with immediate effect and all visa exemptions for Pakistani nationals under a South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation scheme were revoked. The next day, India halted the issuance of visas to all Pakistani citizens, effectively stopping people-to-people contacts with the neighbour.
While these measures reflect the national outrage over the heinous assault on innocent civilians, Delhi must go beyond these initial steps. This is a moment to systematically expose Pakistan’s longstanding use of terrorism as a strategic tool against India. These moves alone, though symbolically powerful, may not inflict enough pain on Islamabad to force a policy shift, given the limited economic and social linkages between the two nations.
India must now intensify its diplomatic offensive. Pakistan’s once-firm allies, including the US, no longer offer the uncritical support they once did. Meanwhile, India has cultivated robust ties with Saudi Arabia—traditionally a strong backer of Pakistan. Notably, during PM Modi’s recent state visit to Riyadh, the India-Saudi joint statement contained the strongest language ever used against terrorism in a communiqué by the two nations. India must leverage this alignment to further isolate Pakistan. While it improves the diplomatic equation with Beijing—Islamabad’s so-called ‘all-weather ally’—Delhi must directly challenge China’s resistance to listing and sanctioning Pakistan-based terrorists. If India can persuade China to alter its stance, it would deal a significant blow to the terror networks protected by Pakistan’s establishment, strengthening India’s broader strategy to bring up and isolate state-sponsored terrorism on global platforms.
The unprecedented public anger in Kashmir against the Pahalgam attack shatters Pakistan’s narrative on the region. It is now imperative for Delhi to lay bare Islamabad’s duplicity on international platforms—particularly among Pakistan’s remaining allies. The time has come not only to respond to terrorism, but to dismantle the structures that enable it.