Attack pushes India and Pakistan closer to war

Nuclear rivals India and Pakistan moved closer to military confrontation yesterday, when Islamabad closed its airspace to Indian aircraft and warned that any effort by Delhi to interfere with the supply of water under a decades-old treaty would be viewed as an act of war.

- Aakash Hassan and Penelope MacRae, Delhi, Peter Beaumont

In a series of escalating tit-for-tat moves since a massacre of Indian tourists in the disputed region of Kashmir this week by Islamist militants, India ordered its citizens to return from Pakistan, while Pakistan expelled a number of Indian diplomats.

The fast-rising tensions follow the killing of 25 Indian tourists and a Nepalese national on Tuesday, the worst assault targeting civilians in the restive region for years. It prompted India to again accuse Pakistan of sustaining "cross-border terrorism", a claim Pakistan denies.

"Pakistan declares the Indian defence, naval and air advisers in Islamabad persona non grata. They are directed to leave Pakistan immediately," a statement from the office of the prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, said after he had convened a rare national security committee meeting. It also said visas issued to Indian nationals would be cancelled.

"Any threat to Pakistan's sovereignty and to the security of its people will be met with firm reciprocal measures in all domains," the statement added, ordering the closure of borders, the cancellation of trade and the closure of airspace to Indian-owned or Indian-operated airlines.