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India’s Foreign Ministry has cancelled all visas under ‘SAARC exemption scheme’ issued to Pakistani nationals and ordered them to leave the country within 48 hours.
According to the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, any Pakistani national in India holding a SAARC visa must leave the country within 48 hours.
The decision follows the recent Pahalgam terror attack, where 26 people were killed. Indian authorities cited security concerns and cross-border links in the investigation.
With immediate effect, Pakistani citizens cannot travel to India under the SAARC visa programme, and any previously issued visas under this scheme are now invalid.
The government also shut down the Attari border checkpost, the main land crossing between the two countries, effective immediately. This move further restricts people-to-people contact in the wake of heightened security concerns.
The SAARC visa exemption scheme, meant to ease travel for officials and dignitaries among member states, no longer applies to Pakistan. Indian authorities stated that this decision is “effective immediately and non-negotiable.”
