Pak closes airspace, threatens to end Simla pact amid strained ties

Pakistan on Thursday closed its airspace to Indian airlines, suspended all trade with India, including through third-party countries, and threatened to suspend bilateral pacts such as the Simla Agreement in response to a slew of punitive measures announced by New Delhi over the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people.

- Rezaul H Laskar

Pakistan's deputy prime minister Ishaq Dar rejected India's decision to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 and told a media briefing that any stopping of river waters "will be tantamount to an act of war". "Any encroachment, suspension or stopping of water will not be acceptable. We are prepared for any action, including keeping in abeyance bilateral treaties like the Simla Agreement," he said.

Most of the steps unveiled by Pakistan after a meeting of the National Security Committee chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Islamabad were titfor-tat reactions to measures announced by India on Wednesday.

India's punitive measures, including suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, closing the only operational land border crossing at Attari, and expulsion of Pakistani military attaches, were finalised by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) a day after terrorists gunned down the tourists in a scenic meadow, marking the worst attack on civilians in Jammu and Kashmir in two decades.

A statement from the Pakistan Prime Minister's Office said Pakistani airspace "will be closed with immediate effect for all Indian owned or Indian operated airlines", and all trade with India, "including to and from any third country through Pakistan", will be suspended forthwith.

The statement said the Indus Waters Treaty has no provision for unilateral suspension, and said any attempt to stop or divert the flow of water allocated to Pakistan or usurpation of the rights of the lower riparian state will be an act of war and "responded with full force across the complete spectrum of national power".