Pahalgam terror attack: India revokes visas for Pakistanis from April 27, medical visas to expire on April 29

In a sweeping escalation of diplomatic retaliation, India has revoked nearly all existing visas issued to Pakistani nationals, effective April 27. Only long-term, diplomatic, and official visas will remain valid, while medical visas are now set to expire by April 29.

The Ministry of Home Affairs said the directive followed a high-level video conference chaired by Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan, instructing state governments to enforce the move.

India revoked all visas issued to Pakistani citizens on April 24, urging Indian nationals to avoid travel to Pakistan. The action is part of a sharp diplomatic response to the deadly terror attack in Pahalgam on April 22, which killed 26 civilians.

The attack, carried out in a popular tourist area in Jammu and Kashmir, marked the deadliest strike on civilians in the region in nearly two decades, and the worst in India since the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

In response, India also suspended the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960, shut down the only land border crossing at Attari, and moved to downgrade diplomatic ties with Islamabad.

The government had previously directed that all Pakistani citizens who entered through the Attari crossing must exit the country by May 1. It also disqualified Pakistani nationals from the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme (SVES).

The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), after reviewing intelligence on cross-border linkages to the attack, approved five punitive steps, including the suspension of the water-sharing treaty, until Pakistan ends its support for terrorism.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, echoing the government’s hardline stance, declared on Thursday, “We will identify, track and punish every terrorist, their handlers and their backers. We will pursue them to the ends of the earth...Every effort will be made to ensure that justice is done.”