Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday spoke with the chief ministers of all states and UTs and directed them to identify Pakistani nationals residing within their jurisdictions and ensure their return by the deadline announced earlier this week.
The directive follows India’s response to the April 22 attack, in which 25 tourists and a local were shot dead at point-blank range and 12 others were seriously injured in Pahalgam. The attack was orchestrated by a group of heavily armed terrorists with links to Pakistan-based handlers. The government has revoked 14 categories of visas, including those of business, conference, visitor and pilgrim, issued to Pakistani citizens effective April 27, with exceptions made only for those on long-term, diplomatic or official visas. Pakistani nationals currently in India on medical visas have been granted a brief extension and must depart by April 29.
After Shah’s telephonic conversations with the chief ministers, Home Secretary Govind Mohan also held a video-conference with the chief secretaries of all the states, urging strict implementation of the orders. Officials have been instructed to expedite the identification of Pakistani citizens and oversee their exit from the Indian territory within the stipulated timeframe.
In addition to visa cancellation, the government has taken a series of diplomatic and strategic steps, including the expulsion of Pakistani military attachés, suspension of the decades-old Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 and the immediate closure of the Attari land transit post.
The new measures come as part of India’s broader effort to hold Pakistan accountable for what officials described as a “barbaric and premeditated attack” targeting civilians in the Kashmir valley.
Historically, India has granted visas to hundreds of Pakistani nationals each year, many of whom sought access to India’s world-class healthcare system.
Indian hospitals in cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Hyderabad have become trusted destinations for Pakistani patients requiring complex treatments, including organ transplant and paediatric cardiac surgeries. The Indian High Commission in Islamabad has routinely facilitated medical visas for such cases, often on humanitarian grounds.
The Tribune
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