Pakistan calls NSC meeting after India downgrades ties over Pahalgam attack

* New Delhi suspends Indus Water Treaty with immediate effect; shuts Attari-Wagah border, bans Pakistani nationals, orders those in country to leave within 48 hours
* Pakistan Defence Minister Kh Asif condemns terrorism, says false flag operation can't be ruled out
* Warns India that Pakistan is in a position to give a befitting response

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said on Wednesday that a session of the National Security Committee (NSC) has been summoned tidat to decide on an appropriate response to the steps taken by New Delhi following the attack in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam area.

The attack in IIOJK killed at least 26 people and injured 17 others when gunmen attacked a popular tourist spot.

“A session of the National Security Committee will be held under the chair of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif,” said Asif in a statement, adding that decisions will be taken to give “an appropriate response to the Indian steps”.

In a separate statement, the defence minister said that Pakistan condemns terrorism wherever it occurs in the world and India should investigate the Pahalgam incident as merely levelling allegations won’t absolve them of responsibility.

“India’s allegation against Pakistan for the Pahalgam incident is inappropriate,” said Asif while speaking to a private news channel. He added that Pakistan is the most affected country by terrorism and has been facing the menace for decades.

He questioned how Pakistan could promote terrorism, being a victim of the threat itself.

“There should be no ambiguity that we strongly condemn terrorism,” the defence czar said; however, he added that a “false flag operation” could not be ruled out.

Meanwhile, Asif also clarified that Pakistan was in a position to give a befitting response to India [in case of any misadventure].

“People remember what happened to Abhinandan,” the minister said, referring to the Indian pilot who had been arrested after Pakistan shot down an Indian MiG-21 during Operation Swift Retort in February 2019.

He also accused New Delhi of sponsoring terrorists in Balochistan and “giving asylum and medical facilities to separatists”.

Asif added that evidence proved India’s connection with the outlawed militant outfit, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The minister further said that several Indian consulates in Afghanistan had been facilitating terrorism in Pakistan.

“We are concerned at the loss of tourists’ lives in an attack in Anantnag district,” the Pakistan’s Foreign Office said in a statement. “We extend our condolences to the near ones of the deceased and wish the injured a speedy recovery.”

Earlier, India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan in the aftermath of a deadly attack in Pahalgam.

Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri briefed the media on Wednesday, stating that the cabinet was given a comprehensive briefing on the attack. He declined to take questions but outlined the key decisions made during the emergency session.

According to Misri, India will immediately suspend the Indus Waters Treaty, a long-standing agreement that governs the sharing of river waters between India and Pakistan.

“The Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 will be held in abeyance with immediate effect, until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism,” he said. The suspension marks a major departure from decades of water cooperation, even during periods of military and diplomatic strain.

India has also shut down the Attari-Wagah border crossing, a key point for trade and civilian movement between the two nations, with immediate effect.

In another unprecedented step, the Indian government will ban Pakistani nationals from entering India, and those currently in the country have been ordered to leave within 48 hours.

The cabinet further decided to expel all Pakistani military advisors, including those from the air force, navy, and army, stationed at the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi.

Simultaneously, India is recalling its three military service advisors and five auxiliary staff members from its High Commission in Islamabad.

Additionally, India has requested Pakistan to reduce the staff strength at its New Delhi mission from 55 to 30, reflecting a sharp downgrading of diplomatic ties.

Meanwhile, India’s PM Narendra Modi had decried the “heinous act” in the summer retreat of Pahalgam, pledging the attackers “will be brought to justice”.

“Those responsible and behind such an act will very soon hear our response, loud and clear,” Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said in a speech in New Delhi.

“We won’t just reach those people who carried out the attack. We will also reach out to those who planned this from behind the scenes on our land.” Singh did not identify those he believes are responsible for the killings, but said that “India’s government will take every step that may be necessary and appropriate.”

The killings came a day after Modi met in New Delhi with US Vice President JD Vance, who is on a four-day tour of India with his wife and children.