786 Pakistanis left India through Attari-Wagah border since Pahalgam attack

The Centre ordered Pakistani citizens to leave India by April 27 following outrage over the deadly attack in Pahalgam, which left 26 people - mostly tourists - dead

At least 786 Pakistani nationals have left India through the Attari-Wagah border since April 24 after the government ordered them to leave in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack, reported news agency ANI. During the same period, at least 1,376 Indians returned from Pakistan through the Attari-Wagah border.

 

The Centre ordered Pakistani citizens to leave India by April 27 following outrage over the deadly attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam, which left 26 people - mostly tourists - dead. Pakistani nationals who had medical visas were given time until April 29 to leave the country.

 

However, people with diplomatic, official, or long-term visas did not have to leave. The deadline for Pakistanis with any of the 12 types of short-term visas ended on April 26.

 

Tensions are on the rise between the two nuclear-armed neighbours after the April 22 terror attack. Besides visa cancellation, India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty (1960) and downgraded diplomatic ties with Pakistan as part of its punitive actions against Islamabad. In a retaliatory move, Pakistan banned its airspace for Indian flights and suspended the Simla Agreement.

 

PM Modi chairs key meeting

 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a high-level meeting in the national capital on Tuesday, where he gave “complete operational freedom” to the country’s armed forces to respond to the terror attack.

 

The meeting was attended by Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan, three services chiefs, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.

 

[With inputs from ANI]