These sweeping measures are designed not only to penalize Pakistan for its continued sponsorship of cross-border terrorism but also to signal a new threshold in India’s retaliatory doctrine — one that prioritizes sustained economic pain and international isolation over symbolic gestures.
In the aftermath of the devastating Pahalgam terror attack, India has shifted gears — moving beyond mere condemnation and diplomatic censure to a phase of calibrated coercion aimed squarely at Pakistan. What has now unfolded is nothing short of a full-spectrum economic and diplomatic offensive. New Delhi has unleashed a barrage of unprecedented restrictions, targeting Islamabad’s trade, transportation, and communication arteries with precision. These sweeping measures are designed not only to penalize Pakistan for its continued sponsorship of cross-border terrorism but also to signal a new threshold in India’s retaliatory doctrine — one that prioritizes sustained economic pain and international isolation over symbolic gestures.
In the latest round of retaliatory steps, India has banned all Pakistan-flagged merchant vessels from entering any Indian port, essentially cutting off maritime access to the world’s fifth-largest economy. It has also imposed a blanket ban on all goods imported directly or indirectly from Pakistan, choking off re-routed trade that had been surviving via third countries. In addition, India has prohibited all postal services to and from Pakistan, dismantling a crucial—if symbolic—link that had enabled people-to-people connections in times of diplomatic chill. And perhaps most disruptive of all, New Delhi has now barred Pakistani aircraft from flying through Indian airspace, creating costly detours for commercial airlines and putting additional stress on Pakistan’s already struggling aviation sector.
These aggressive measures come just days after India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty and shut the Wagah-Attari border, as it launched a global diplomatic offensive to isolate Pakistan. Taken together, they amount to a severe multi-domain punishment that targets Pakistan’s economic arteries, logistical networks, and international credibility. While India maintains that these steps are necessary to hold Pakistan accountable for sheltering and sponsoring terror outfits like Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed, Islamabad is already reeling from the economic and diplomatic tremors. The impact is expected to be deep, multi-layered, and difficult to recover from—especially at a time when Pakistan’s economy is teetering on the edge of collapse and its global standing is under intense scrutiny.
Bilateral trade between India and Pakistan has seen a sharp decline over the past five years, with official data showing a 56.91% drop in India’s exports to Pakistan between April 2024 and February 2025 — down to just $491 million.