Srinagar: Pakistan has issued a NOTAM (Notice to Airmen/Mariners) for the Arabian Sea and initiated a naval live fire exercise, while putting its military on full alert in anticipation of a possible military response by India in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack.
The NOTAM was issued Wednesday with coordinates in the Arabian Sea near its waters for 24 April and 25 April.
Sources in the defence and security establishment in India told ThePrint that the Pakistan Navy has initiated a naval exercise in the region, which also involves a missile test. Pakistan has put its air defences on alert, and their AWACS (airborne warning and control system) have been flying regularly to track movement of Indian aircraft, they added.
Sources have downplayed any military movement on the Indian side, clarifying that these are regular operational movements. Pakistani forces were already conducting an Army exercise near the western borders with India, when the Pahalgam attack took place, they said, adding that they have observed heightened movement of Pakistani military, along the Line of Control (LoC).
India has gone on record to say that it has resolved that the perpetrators of the Pahalgam attack will be brought to justice, and their sponsors held to account.
The sources said that it is natural for Pakistan to take such steps, given the fact that India has responded to the 2016 Uri attacks and 2019 Pulwama attack with its own military operations. “It is natural for it to prepare itself for any possible retaliation. The question is when and where the retaliation will come,” a source said, adding that such decisions are taken at the highest level, and are only on a need-to-know basis.
They added that several meetings have been held by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval. As ThePrint reported, sources have said that all options are on the table with respect to India’s response to the Pahalgam attack.
In a late night briefing by Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri—who was previously the deputy national security adviser—following the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) said, “The cross-border linkages of the terrorist attack were brought out.” This meant that Pakistan’s linkage to the Pahalgam attack was brought out.
India’s first response has been diplomatic, and the most important move is the Narendra Modi government putting the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 in abeyance with immediate effect, until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism.
Sources said while this move will not have any immediate impact, Pakistan knows it will feel the pain in the long term, which is a huge worry for them.
The Integrated Check Post at Attari has also been closed with immediate effect, and Pakistani nationals will not be permitted to travel to India under the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme (SVES). Any SVES visas issued in the past to Pakistani nationals are deemed cancelled. Any Pakistani national currently in India under SVES visa has 48 hours to leave India, the Foreign Secretary had said Wednesday.
The defence/military, naval and air advisers in the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi have been declared ‘Persona Non Grata’, and given a week to leave.
India will be withdrawing its own defence/navy/air advisers from the Indian High Commission in Islamabad. These posts in the respective High Commissions are deemed annulled.
The overall strength of the High Commissions will be brought down to 30 from the present 55 through further reductions, effective 1 May.
The foreign secretary had also announced that the CCS reviewed the overall security situation and directed all forces to maintain high vigil.
“It resolved that the perpetrators of the attack will be brought to justice and their sponsors held to account. As with the recent extradition of Tahawwur Rana, India will be unrelenting in the pursuit of those who have committed acts of terror, or conspired to make them possible,” he said.
(Edited by Mannat Chugh)