Indus Treaty with Pakistan put on hold

Context

• India will hold the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan “in abeyance with immediate effect”, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri announced on Wednesday. It is part of the five pronged response that was decided upon after Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) in the aftermath of the terror strike in Pahalgam that left 26 dead

SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme

• The SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme was launched in 1992. The leaders at the Fourth Summit (Islamabad, 29-31 December 1988), while realizing the importance of having people to people contacts, among the peoples of SAARC countries, decided that certain categories of dignitaries should be entitled to a Special Travel document, which would exempt them from visas within the region. As directed by the Summit, the Council of Ministers regularly kept under review the list of entitled categories.

• Currently, the list included 24 categories of entitled persons, which include Dignitaries, Judges of higher courts, Parliamentarians, Senior Officials, Businessmen, Journalists, Sportsmen etc.

• The Visa Stickers are issued by the respective Member States to the entitled categories of that particular country.

Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS)

• It is headed by the Prime Minister.

• The Committee discusses, debates, and is the apex body when it comes to the appointments of the officials in the national security bodies.

• It also makes all the important decisions on defence policy and expenditure and, generally, all matters of India’s security.

• Members: PM, Ministers of Defence, Home Affairs, Finance and External Affairs.

Cabinet Committee

• Cabinet Committees are extra-constitutional, meaning, they are NOT mentioned in the Indian Constitution.

• They are designed to reduce the burden on the Union Cabinet by allowing smaller groups of ministers to make decisions on specific policy areas.

• They are constituted or reconstituted when a new government takes over or the Cabinet undergoes a reshuffle.

• There are a total of 8 cabinet committees:

1Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs.

2Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs.

3Cabinet Committee on Investment and Growth.

4Cabinet Committee on Security.

5Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs.

6Cabinet Committee on Employment and Skill Development.

7Cabinet Committee on Accommodation.

8Appointments Committee of the Cabinet.