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Hindustan Times
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
View from the Himalaya: India expects a firm stand on terrorism from Nepal
It is an everyday story of tens of thousands of Nepalis in the Terai plains. Countless numbers cross the open border – for work, shopping, tourism (including medical tourism), to meet family members, for pilgrimage and for many more reasons. One of the 26 killed in the terror attack in Pahalgam on April 22 was a young Nepali. A resident of Rupandehi district on the border with Uttar Pradesh, Sudip Neupane had travelled with his sister and brother-in-law to Kashmir on a 'spontaneous' visit. Butwal, his home town, is only six hours away from Lucknow, four hours from Ayodhya and three hours from Gorakhpur. Nepal unequivocally condemned the attack. Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli spoke with Prime Minister Narendra Modi the next day, both expressing condolences to each other for the lives lost. On April 30, Vijay Chauthaiwale, in-charge of the foreign affairs department of the Bharatiya Janata Party and a familiar face in political circles in Kathmandu, landed in Nepal. He met three key figures in office – Prime Minister Oli, home minister Ramesh Lekhak and foreign minister Arzu Deuba. He also paid courtesy calls to three former prime ministers – Sher Bahadur Deuba, Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Madhav Kumar Nepal, all of whom also head their parties. The visit (and concurrent diplomatic exchanges) stressed on three key points, according to multiple insiders. That India will make military strikes on Pakistan – the date, nature and scale remained undisclosed; India wants its South Asian neighbours, and Nepal indeed, to realise they are an integral part of fight against terrorism; and there could be some pro-Pakistani protests in pockets in Terai should there be an escalation. When India launched Operation Sindoor in the early hours on May 7, Kathmandu had by then seen a flurry of diplomatic and political engagements. On May 8, the foreign ministry issued a statement. 'The Government of Nepal,' it said, 'is deeply concerned about the escalating tensions between India and Pakistan, following terrorist attacks on innocent tourists in Pahalgam…in which a Nepali national also had lost his precious life. During this tragic period, Nepal and India stand in solidarity, united in shared grief and suffering.' Some expressed disappointment that Nepal had failed to name and unequivocally condemn Pakistan and support the Indian move, given the fact that a Nepali had also been killed and another injured in the terrorist attack. Others argued that Nepal had already condemned the Pahalgam attack and there was no need to issue a statement in the fog of border skirmishes, and claims and counterclaims. Some others said, neither India nor Pakistan was happy with the statement and Nepal could have chosen to stay silent ('strategic ambiguity'), not least as the current Saarc chair. The ongoing ceasefire ('cessation of hostilities', in Delhi's viewpoint) offers political space for reflection on the consequential Indian position vis-à-vis its South Asian neighbours and also their own response to India's. Nepal is a hard place to be. It has been historically plagued by small-state insecurities on the one hand and the need to stand with India against an act of terrorism and a fast-changing geopolitical context on the other. Here are some facts playing out on the ground. None of Nepal's senior political leaders have yet visited Sandeep Neupane's family, including finance minister Bishnu Poudel, who comes from PM's Oli party, the CPN-UML, a Communist party. Poudel, as importantly, is elected from that part of the country. New Delhi, meanwhile, has asked Nepal to demonstrate a firm position against what it regards as Pakistan-sponsored terrorism, calling for a serious review of the traditional Nepali approach of treating India and Pakistan on a similar diplomatic footing. 'It should not be treated as business as usual' matter, which concludes with 'boiler-plate statements', says an Indian diplomat. 'Western and European powers can issue such platitudes', not those in the subcontinent. Nepal's 'mixed response' is, among others, rooted in its history. The idea that Nepal should consider itself a 'Yam between two boulders' has deeply influenced its national imagination since the 'unifier king' Prithivi Narayan imagined modern-day Nepal. The decades-long effort in the 18th century was a combination of conquests, guile and diplomacy, which subjugated more than 50 smaller states. Nepal, until the early 19th century, remained a major regional player. In very recent history, Kathmandu has housed the Saarc secretariat since 1987. Hence its default diplomatic position on thorny bilateral issues between India and Pakistan – both Saarc members – has been one of neutrality. That said, Nepalis are mindful of the fact that India has since grown to be the fifth-largest economy, poised to be the third largest and is governed by a Hindu revivalist party since 2013. New Delhi enjoys substantive diplomatic leverage in corridors of power in Kathmandu in bilateral forums. India is Nepal's largest trading partner and Indian ports are transit points to most of Nepal's trade, including with China. On multilateral forums in the region and beyond, India's diplomatic heft is far greater than that of the much troubled Pakistan. Will Pahalgam be the inflection point? Other than New Delhi, other powers – not least Beijing - are keeping a close eye on the developments in the neighbourhood. Akhilesh Upadhyay is former Editor-in-Chief of The Kathmandu Post and a Senior Fellow at Center for Strategic Affairs at IIDS, a Kathmandu-based think tank. Views expressed are personal. Get 360° coverage—from daily headlines to 100 year archives.
Time of India
11-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Indus Waters Treaty, other punitive actions against Pakistan to remain in effect
Image used for representative purposes NEW DELHI: India's punitive measures against Pakistan following the April 22 Pahalgam massacre , including suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty , will remain in effect despite the agreement on pausing of hostilities between the two nations. In addition, India's closure of the Attari integrated check-post in Punjab and cancellation of the Saarc visa exemption scheme for Pakistani nationals will also remain in effect, sources confirmed. Operation Sindoor Armed forces maintaining strong vigil after Pak ceasefire breach: MEA Behind the scenes of ceasefire: Calls from Pakistan, Washington Pakistan violates ceasefire: Loud explosions, sirens haunt J&K- what we know so far Pakistan had previously called India's suspension of the treaty "an act of war". After India and Pakistan reached an understanding on Saturday to halt firing and military actions, govt sources confirmed India's measures announced on April 23 will stay in place. "There are no pre-conditions to the ceasefire agreement reached on Saturday, and the IWT will remain suspended," ministry of external affairs sources stated. Signed in 1960 after nine years of negotiations facilitated by the World Bank, the Indus Waters Treaty allocates the western rivers (Indus, Jhelum, Chenab) to Pakistan and the eastern rivers (Ravi, Beas, Sutlej) to India. It allows limited water- sharing, with India receiving 20% of the Indus river system's water and Pakistan 80%.
Time of India
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Pahalgam attack aftermath: Pakistan to keep Wagah border open for stranded citizens amid Centre's 'leave India' order
Pakistan on Friday announced that it would continue to keep the crossing open for its citizens stranded in India, following New Delhi's decision to revoke visas in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The Attari-Wagah border which connects Amritsar in India with Lahore in Pakistan, was shut on Thursday after remaining open until April 30. Reports said that around 70 Pakistani nationals were left stranded at the border on Thursday, after the deadline for their departure from India had passed a day earlier. Responding to media questions, a spokesperson for Pakistan's ministry of foreign affairs confirmed the presence of stranded Pakistani nationals at the Attari border, including children. 'We are aware of the media reports indicating that some Pakistani nationals are stranded at Attari. We are open to receiving our citizens in case the Indian authorities allow them to cross the border from their side,' the Pakistan MoFA spokesperson said. The spokesperson further said that the Wagah crossing would continue to remain open in the future for Pakistani nationals wishing to return. The foreign office of neighbouring Pakistan also criticised India's decision to revoke visas, stating, 'The Indian decision to revoke visas of Pakistani citizens is creating serious humanitarian challenges,' and pointed to disruptions in medical treatments and family separations. The Centre issued 'Leave India' notices after the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, Kashmir, which killed 26 people—mostly tourists—and was linked to Pakistan-based elements. The exit deadlines varied by visa type: April 26 for Saarc visa holders, April 27 for 12 other categories including business, tourism, and student visas, and April 29 for medical visa holders. After these deadlines, no cross-border movement was permitted between the two countries. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now In a reciprocal move, Pakistan had also shut down the Wagah crossing, revoked Indian visas under the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme (SVES), and ordered Indian military advisers at the high commission to leave. "All cross-border transit from India through this route shall be suspended, without exception. Those who have crossed with valid endorsements may return through that route immediately but not later than April 30," Pakistan had stated last month.
Express Tribune
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Bilawal terms India's steps irrational
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said on Wednesday that India was taking irrational steps since last week's attack in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) and backed the government's stance that ending the Indus Waters Treaty would be taken as an act of war. In an interview with BBC, Bilawal stated that Pakistan was taken out of the grey list of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), during his term as the foreign minister, which, he said, meant that Pakistan had no link to terrorist groups. Since last week, tensions have escalated between Pakistan and India after the latter's baseless allegations against Pakistan following the Pahalgam attack, which killed 26 tourists. Without providing any proof, India accused Pakistan of the attack shortly after it happened. In response, India's foreign ministry on Wednesday announced to hold the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 in abeyance, close the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi and shut the Attari-Wagah border crossing. Pakistani nationals will no longer be able to travel to India under the Saarc visa exemption. "India is currently taking emotional and irrational steps," Bilawal said in the interview, while commenting on the recent escalation between the neighbours. "Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has offered India an impartial inquiry into the Pahalgam incident," he added. When asked about India's allegations against Pakistan, he said that such baseless allegations had been levelled against the country in the past as well. He recalled that before his becoming the foreign minister in April 2022, Pakistan was in the FATF grey list.
Time of India
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Pahalgam attack: 1,376 Indians returned via Attari, 786 Pakistanis exited
NEW DELHI: As many as 786 Pakistanis exited the country via the Attari-Wagah integrated check post between April 24 and 29, while 1,376 Indian visitors to Pakistan returned the same way over the same period. On April 29, the last of the deadlines set by New Delhi for Pakistani visitors on 14 categories of revoked visas to leave India, 104 Pakistanis exited and 252 Indians returned through the Attari-Wagah route. While Saarc visas for Pakistani nationals were revoked on April 23 in view of investigations into the Pahalgam carnage pointing to a Pakistan link in the conspiracy, all other valid visas issued to Pakistani nationals, except diplomatic and official visa and long-term visa, were revoked on April 24. Govt had, while revoking the visas, announced that Saarc visa holders would need to leave India by April 26, Pakistani visitors on a dozen other visas by April 27 and those on medical visas by April 29. Sources in agencies manning the Attari ICP told TOI that 28 Pakistani nationals had returned to their home country via Attari on April 24, followed by 191 on April 25, 81 on April 26, 237 on April 27, 145 on April 28 and 104 on Tuesday. As for Indian visitors to Pakistan on valid visas, 105 returned via Wagah-Attari land route on April 24, 287 on April 25, 342 on April 26, 115 on April 27, 275 on April 28 and another 252 on Tuesday.
