Five Indian diplomats stationed in Pakistan flown back to Delhi on April 23

India has also announced a complete suspension of SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme privileges for Pakistani nationals.

In the wake of the brutal terrorist attack in Pahalgam that left 26 people dead and over 20 injured, India has withdrawn Geetika Srivastava, its chargé d’affaires in the Indian high commission in Islamabad and other senior diplomats stationed in Pakistan.

Five Indian diplomats, including Geetika Srivastava, the head of the Indian mission in Pakistan as chargé d’affaires, the Counsellor (Political, Press and Information Wing), first secretary (Political, Press and Information Wing), counsellor (Consular, Passport and Visa Wing) and Second Secretary (Consular, Passport and Visa Wing), have been flown back to India on April 23, senior government officials told Moneycontrol.

“Five Indian diplomats stationed in Pakistan have been flown back on a private plane from the Pakistan Air Force Base, Nur Khan airbase located in Chaklala, Rawalpindi and landed at Delhi at 1500 IST on April 23, 2025,” a senior official from the Ministry of External Affairs of India told Moneycontrol.

He added that Saad Warraich, Pakistan’s chargé d’affaires in New Delhi, was also flown back to Islamabad on April 23.

On April 23, Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri told reporters that the defence advisers in the Pakistani high commission in New Delhi were declared persona non grata and asked to leave the country within seven days, adding that the overall strength of the Indian high commission in Islamabad will also be reduced to 30 from 55.

Misri also said that the cross-border linkages of the attack in Indian-administered Kashmir had been “brought out” at a special meeting of the security cabinet, after which it was decided to act against Pakistan.

He said the main land border crossing between the two countries would be shut with immediate effect, and New Delhi would suspend a water treaty allowing the sharing of waters of the Indus River system between the two countries.

The CCS also decided Pakistani nationals would be barred from travelling to India under the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) visa exemption programme, and that Pakistanis using the visas have 48 hours to leave the country.

India has also announced a complete suspension of SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme (SVES) privileges for Pakistani nationals. The Foreign Secretary added that any Pakistani national currently in India under the SVES visa has been given a strict deadline of 48 hours to exit the country.

The SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme was originally designed to facilitate smoother travel for officials and dignitaries from member nations within South Asia.

He also said that the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) has also decided to shut the integrated check post at Attari, allowing the return only for those who crossed with valid endorsements before May 1.

The CCS briefing pointed to the terrorists’ cross-border ties, noting that the attack’s timing coincided with the successful conduct of elections in Jammu and Kashmir and the region’s ongoing progress in economic growth and development.