India revokes Pakistanis' visas, advises citizens to return as it ups offensive

( News Agency)- In a sweeping diplomatic retaliation to the recent deadly terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam, the Indian government on Thursday revoked all visas issued to Pakistani nationals and suspended all categories of visa services for Pakistan.
In an official statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the move followed decisions taken by the Cabinet Committee on Security or CCS in the aftermath of the Pahalgam attack.
Effective April 27, 2025, all valid visas issued to Pakistani nationals have been cancelled. Even the medical visas — often extended on humanitarian grounds — have been given a limited window. They will remain valid only until April 29, 2025.
Moreover, India has completely suspended visa services for Pakistani nationals and no new visas will be processed or issued until further notice.
"All existing valid visas issued by India to Pakistani nationals stand revoked with effect from 27 April 2025. Medical visas issued to Pakistani nationals will be valid only till 29 April 2025," the MEA statement read.
"All Pakistani nationals currently in India must leave India before the expiry of visas, as now amended," it added.
Additionally, the Indian government has also asked its citizens to avoid travelling to Pakistan and those already in the neighbouring country have been advised to return to India at the earliest possible.
Terrorists attacked tourists at Baisaran meadow in Pahalgam on Tuesday, killing as many as 26 people, mostly tourists, while leaving several injured, in one of the deadliest attacks in the Valley since the 2019 Pulwama strike in which 40 personnel of the Indian Army were killed.
INDIA BUILDS ITS CASE
As part of its diplomatic outreach, India summoned ambassadors from multiple countries, including Germany, Japan, Poland, the United Kingdom, Russia and China to brief them on the Pahalgam attack.
The Ministry of External Affairs conveyed details of the strike, responsibility for which was claimed by The Resistance Front (TRF), an affiliate of Pakistan-based and banned terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba.