India has announced an immediate ban on all goods originating from or transiting through Pakistan, escalating the diplomatic crisis between the two nuclear-armed nations. 

The ban, effective immediately, was announced by India’s Directorate General of Foreign Trade in a notification.

The notification said that the restriction was imposed “in the interest of national security and public policy.”

The notification, dated May 2, amends the Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) 2023 to explicitly prohibit the direct or indirect import or transit of any goods originating in or exported from Pakistan until further notice. 

This action follows a recent deadly attack on tourists in the Indian Illegally Occupied Kashmir (IIOJK) region, which has significantly exacerbated already strained relations between the two countries.

The Indian move mirrors a similar action taken by Pakistan, which has also blocked imports from India.

After the attack in Pahalgam, that killed 26 tourists, India had announced that it would hold the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance, decrease Pakistani diplomatic presence in India and close the Wagah-Attari border. In response, Pakistan had also reduced Indian diplomatic presence, revoked visas for Indians, and closed its airspace for Indian planes. It had also announced that any measures to usurp Pakistan’s waters would amount to an ‘act of war’.