MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th February, 2019) Pakistani nationals in India's northern Rajasthan region have been ordered to leave the district of Bikaner within 48 hours following a February 14 terror attack in northern Indian city Pulwama that killed over 40 Indian paramilitaries, local media reported, citing orders issued by the city's district magistrate.
According to the Indian news agency ANI, the Bikaner city magistrate issued the order with immediate effect. It prohibits any hotels, lodges or hospitals on the district's borders from letting any Pakistani nationals stay in their properties.
The order also directed Indian businessmen not to maintain any business relations with Pakistani nationals, including employing them. The order, which will remain in effect for two months, does not apply to Pakistani nationals who have registered with the foreign registration office.
On February 14, a car carrying over 100 Pounds of explosives was detonated on the Jammu-Srinagar highway next to a security convoy in the Pulwama district of the northern Jammu and Kashmir state, killing 45 Indian paramilitary officers. India named Maulana Masood Azhar, the leader of the Jaish-e-Mohammed militant group residing in Pakistan, as the person responsible for ordering the attack.
After the attack, India accused Pakistan of having a "direct hand" in the incident and blamed the neighboring nation for harboring and protecting terrorists. As a punitive measure, India withdrew Pakistan's "Most-Favored Nation" status and raised custom duties on goods imported from Pakistan to 200 percent. On Tuesday, Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi wrote a letter to United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, asking him to play a part in de-escalating tensions between the two countries and calling India's attitude after the Pulwama bombing "irresponsible."
