New Delhi [India], May 3 (ANI): India has imposed an immediate ban on the direct or indirect import and transit of all goods originating in or exported from Pakistan, regardless of their import status, effectively halting bilateral trade flows, according to a notification by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

The Commerce and Industry's Gazette notification issued on Saturday reads, 'In exercise of power conffered by Section 3 read with Section 5 of the Foreign Trade (Development & Regulation) Act, 1992, read with Paragraph 1.02 and 2.01 of the Foreign Trade Polivy (FTP) 2023, as amended from time to time, the Central government hereby inserts a new Para 2.20A in the Foerign Trade Policy, 2023 as follos with immediet effect.'

'Para 2.20A: Prohibition on Import from Pakistan. Direct or indirect Import or transit of all goods originating in or exported from Pakistan, whether or not freely importable or otherwise permitted, shall be prohibited with immediate effect, until further orders. This restriction is imposed in the interest of national security and public policy. Any exception to this prohibition shall require prior approval of the Government of India,' the Commerce and Industry Ministry's notification added.

The move comes amid the growing tension between India and Pakistan following the dastardly attack in Pahalgam in which 26 tourists lost their lives.

Following the terror attack in Pahalgam that killed 26 people, the Central government announced several diplomatic measures, such as closing the Integrated Check Post (ICP) at Attari, suspending the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme (SVES) for Pakistani nationals, giving them 40 hours to return to their country, and reducing the number of officers in the High Commissions on both sides.

India also halted the Indus Waters Treaty signed in 1960 in the wake of the Pahalgam attack.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also assured the country that the terrorists responsible for this attack, along with those who conspired it, will face punishment beyond their imagination, The Prime Minister asserted that the time has come to eliminate the remaining strongholds of terrorism and that the willpower of 140 crore Indians will now break the backbone of the perpetrators of terror. (ANI)