SRINAGAR, India, April 23 (Reuters) - India announced a raft of measures to downgrade its ties with Pakistan on Wednesday, a day after suspected militants killed 26 men at a tourist destination in Kashmir in the worst attack on civilians in the country in nearly two decades.

A little-known militant group, the "Kashmir Resistance," claimed responsibility for the attack in a social media message. It expressed discontent that more than 85,000 "outsiders" had been settled in the region, spurring a "demographic change".

India’s Foreign Ministry said Pakistani nationals will not be allowed to travel to India under the SAARC visa exemption programme. Any visas previously issued under this scheme “are deemed cancelled” and any Pakistani national in India with one of these visas has 48 hours to leave.