Amid rising tensions following a deadly terror attack in Pahalgam, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari issued a stern warning to India over its decision to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty.
Addressing a political rally, Bhutto Zardari declared, “The Indus is ours and will remain ours – either our water will flow in this Indus, or their blood. We are its true custodians, and we will defend it. India is unlawfully abrogating the treaty under which it had acknowledged that the Indus belongs to Pakistan.”
He added, “India has blamed Pakistan for the Pahalgam tragedy. To hide its weaknesses and fool its people, Modi has made false allegations and has unilaterally suspended the Indus Waters Treaty, under which India has acknowledged that the Indus belongs to Pakistan.”
The remarks come in response to India’s strong diplomatic and economic measures after the Pahalgam attack in Jammu and Kashmir, which killed 26 civilians, most of them tourists. India has blamed Pakistan for harbouring terrorist elements behind the attack.
The Resistance Front (TRF), believed to be a proxy of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), has claimed responsibility, once again highlighting the alleged links between cross-border terrorism and Pakistan-based militant groups.
In reaction, India took a series of steps: downgrading diplomatic ties with Pakistan, expelling Pakistani military attachés, suspending the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty, and closing the Attari land transit post.
The suspension of the treaty has triggered a flurry of political activity in Islamabad. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met with Bilawal Bhutto Zardari to address concerns and reportedly moved to halt the controversial canals project linked to the treaty.
