Islamabad/New Delhi: Amid rising tensions between India and Pakistan, India's Minister for Water Resources, C.R. Patil, announced that the Indian government is working on a strategy to ensure "not a single drop of water from India reaches Pakistan."
His remarks follow a deadly attack earlier this week in Pahalgam, in Indian-administered Kashmir, and India's subsequent unilateral announcement to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan.
In response, Islamabad has strongly opposed the move. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Chairman of Pakistan's People's Party and a key figure in the coalition government, warned Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, stating, "Either the waters of the Indus River will flow, or your blood will."
The Pahalgam attack has further strained relations between the two nuclear-armed neighbors, with both countries announcing countermeasures and threatening additional actions.
After a high-level meeting chaired by India's Home Minister Amit Shah and attended by the Foreign Minister, C.R. Patil stated that Prime Minister Modi had issued certain directives, and the meeting focused on implementing those instructions. Patil revealed that short-term, medium-term, and long-term strategies have been developed to ensure that "not a single drop of water" flows to Pakistan.
Pakistan has vehemently rejected India's unilateral decision to suspend water-sharing agreements. Former FM and Chairman PPP, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari accused India of attempting another assault on the Indus River. Speaking at a rally in Sukkur, he declared, "The Indus River is ours and will remain ours; either our waters will flow, or their blood."
Bhutto further alleged that Prime Minister Modi is blaming Pakistan for the Pahalgam attack to cover up his failures and is using it as a pretext for aggressive actions against Pakistan.
Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry has also warned that India's unilateral actions could threaten regional peace and stability. Spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan told a press briefing in Islamabad that any such move would provoke a "strong response" and could be considered "an act of war." He stressed that the Pakistani military is "fully prepared" to defend the country.
