Pakistan suspends all bilateral deals with India, including Simla Agreement

Amid escalating tensions following the Pahalgam terror attack, Pakistan has warned that it may put all bilateral agreements with India, including the historic Simla Agreement, in abeyance.

In a sharp response to New Delhi's recent diplomatic measures—such as suspending the Indus Waters Treaty and reducing diplomatic ties—Pakistan stated it “shall exercise the right to hold all bilateral agreements with India, including but not limited to the Simla Agreement, in abeyance.”

“Pakistan shall exercise the right to hold all bilateral agreements with India, including but not limited to Simla Agreement in abeyance, till India desists from its manifested behaviour of fomenting terrorism inside Pakistan; trans-national killings, and non-adherence to international law and UN Resolutions on Kashmir,” the Pakistan PMO statement said.

It also rejected India's decision to suspend the Indus Water Treaty after Pahalgam terror attack, saying it's the lifeline for 240 million Pakistanis.

The Simla Agreement, a peace treaty between India and Pakistan signed following the 1971 war, established the Line of Control (LOC) in Kashmir to delineate the region's division between the two nations. The agreement also stipulated the repatriation of prisoners of war, troop withdrawal, and a commitment to resolve future disputes through direct bilateral negotiations. Pakistan has recently announced the suspension of this treaty.

The National Security Committee (NSC) of Pakistan, the country's top authority on matters of national security, convened for over two hours to formulate a response. The committee offered its condolences for the casualties in the Pahalgam terror incident and firmly dismissed India's retaliatory actions as "unilateral, unjust, politically motivated, highly irresponsible, and lacking in legal justification.

Other key decisions announced by Pakistan include:

> The Indian High Commission in Islamabad will be reduced to 30 diplomats and staff by April 30.
> Suspension of all SAARC visa exemptions for Indians.
> Declaration of India's military attachés as persona non grata.
> Indefinite closure of the Wagha-Attari border for trade.

The move signals a potential breakdown in diplomatic engagement between the two nuclear-armed neighbours, as both sides harden their stances in the aftermath of the April 22 terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, which left 26 people dead.