New Delhi – A day after 26 people were killed and many others injured in an attack by suspected Pakistan-based militants in Indian-controlled Kashmir, India announced it will put a key river water sharing agreement on hold.
India’s External Affairs Ministry said on Wednesday night that the Indus Water Treaty “will be held in abeyance with immediate effect, until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism.” The suspension of the 1960 World Bank-brokered treaty would mean India would stop the water supply of Indus River and its tributaries – the Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas, and Satluj – to Pakistan, impacting millions of people in that country
The decisions were taken by India’s Cabinet Committee on Security, the country’s top defense decision making body headed by the Prime Minister.
Tuesday’s attack in picturesque Pahalgam area of Indian-controlled Kashmir left 26 people dead – 25 of them tourists – and 17 others injured, when suspected militants opened fire on them, according to Indian authorities in the region. The majority of the victims were Hindus.
ANI/Reuters 
The brazen attack – one of the worst in Kashmir’s history – at one of its most popular tourist spots, dotted with meadows and surrounded by glaciers, has shocked India and been condemned by leaders around the world.
Indian security forces spread out across Kashmir a day after the attack, as police, army and paramilitary forces continued their manhunt for the perpetrators. Many businesses were closed Wednesday to protest the brutal attack on civilians, heeding a call from Kashmiri religious groups and political parties.
A lesser-known militant group called The Resistance Front claimed responsibility for the attack on social media. CBS News cannot independently verify the claim. India media outlets reported the group was backed by Pakistan’s Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT).
Pakistani nationals asked to leave, visas cancelled
In addition to the suspension of the water treaty, India also ordered all Pakistani nationals currently in the country to leave within 48 hours and gave a week to the Military Advisors in the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi to exit India. India said it will also recall its own military advisors from Islamabad.
“These posts in the respective High Commissions are deemed annulled,” said an Indian External Affairs Ministry statement. The ministry said both the high commissions will be down-staffed from current 55 to 30.
India has also decided to close the Integrated Check Post Attari, a key road link between the two countries.
“Those who have crossed over with valid endorsements may return through that route before 01 May 2025,” the ministry said in a statement.
The Kashmir conflict
Kashmir is claimed in full by both India and Pakistan, but each nation has controlled its own portion of the mountainous region for decades.
The scenic Himalayan region has been hit regularly by militant violence since an armed anti-Indian insurgency began in 1989. The simmering conflict has claimed tens of thousands of lives over more than three decades.
TAUSEEF MUSTAFA/AFP via Getty Images 
Tuesday’s attack at the popular tourist beauty spot came when tourism in the Kashmir region was picking up. The last major attack happened in June 2024, when nine people were killed and 33 injured as militants attacked a bus carrying Hindu pilgrims.
Eight pilgrims were killed and 19 injured in a similar attack in the region in 2017, when militants attacked a bus carrying them back from the famous Amarnath Cave Temple in south Kashmir.
Widespread condemnation
U.S. President Donald Trump pledged his support for India after the deadly attack.
“Deeply disturbing news out of Kashmir,” Mr. Trump wrote on social media. “The United States stands strong with India against Terrorism.”
The attack came as U.S. Vice President JD Vance, along with his wife Usha and their children, paid a largely personal visit to India. Vance met earlier in the week with India’s leader, Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Usha Vance is a practicing Hindu whose parents are from India.
“I strongly condemn the terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir. Condolences to those who have lost their loved ones. I pray that the injured recover at the earliest,” Prime Minister Modi said in a social media post on Tuesday. “Those behind this heinous act will be brought to justice… they will not be spared! Their evil agenda will never succeed. Our resolve to fight terrorism is unshakable and it will get even stronger.”
Leaders from Russia, Ukraine, Israel, Iran, France, Italy and the UAE have also expressed condemnation.