Amid rising tensions following the Pahalgam terror attack, Pakistani politician Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has warned of severe consequences if India halts the flow of Indus river waters to Pakistan.
Speaking at a protest gathering in Sukkur, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chairman declared, “The Indus is ours and will remain ours—if water is stopped, Indian blood will flow instead.”
His inflammatory remarks come in response to India’s suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, one of five major punitive measures announced by New Delhi after the April 22 terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir, which killed 26 civilians.
Bhutto accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of making false claims to deflect attention from domestic failures, stating that India had long acknowledged Pakistan’s rights over the Indus river through the 1960 treaty.
India officially communicated the suspension of the treaty to Pakistan on Thursday. The Cabinet Committee on Security, chaired by PM Modi, announced that the agreement will remain in abeyance until Islamabad verifiably ends its support for cross-border terrorism.
In a letter addressed to Pakistan’s Water Resources Secretary Syed Ali Murtaza, India’s Secretary Debashree Mukherjee highlighted how Pakistan’s ongoing terror activities violate the spirit and conditions of the Indus Waters Treaty.
Reacting strongly, Pakistan’s power minister Awais Leghari described India’s decision as “water warfare” and labeled it a cowardly and illegal act. Meanwhile, the Indian government has not officially responded to Bilawal Bhutto’s provocative statements.
