‘Either water will flow or their blood will’: Former Pakistan FM Bilawal Bhutto’s threat to India on Indus Waters Treaty

Former Pakistani foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari threatened India days after New Delhi formally suspended the Indus Waters Treaty, following the deadly terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir.
Bhutto, speaking in Sukkur alongside the Indus River, said, “India has accused Pakistan of the Pahalgam incident, with Modi making false allegations to conceal his own weaknesses and deceive his people. He has unilaterally decided to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty, under which India had acknowledged that the Indus belongs to Pakistan. Standing here in Sukkur by the Indus, I want to tell India that the Indus is ours and will remain ours. Either water will flow in this Indus, or their blood will.”

Tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours have sharply escalated since the attack in Pahalgam, where 26 people, mostly tourists, were killed. The Resistance Front (TRF), believed to be a proxy of the banned Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, claimed responsibility. India responded by initiating the process to suspend the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty, citing Pakistan’s alleged assist for cross-border terrorism.
The authorities, via its ministry of jal shakti, despatched formal discover to Pakistan’s ministry of water Resources. The letter, invoking Article XII(3) of the Treaty, pointed to demographic shifts, evolving clear vitality wants, and Pakistan’s alleged assist for terrorism as grounds for a assessment. India harassed that the treaty may not be applied in “good faith” below present circumstances.
Meanwhile, the fallout has triggered inside discord inside Pakistan. The controversial Cholistan canals mission, launched in February by the military and Punjab’s provincial authorities, has been suspended following strain from the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and widespread protests in Sindh. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met Bilawal Bhutto and agreed that no additional canals can be constructed with out consensus via the Council of Common Interests (CCI).
At a joint press convention, Sharif confirmed, “Until a decision is reached with mutual consensus in the CCI, no further canal will be constructed.”
“India’s announcement to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty is illegal and against humanity,” Bhutto had earlier mentioned. “We will raise Pakistan’s case not only on the streets but at the international level.”
India has additionally begun figuring out and sending again Pakistani nationals residing in India on short-term visas. Union dwelling minister Amit Shah has instructed state governments to expedite the method, whereas additionally calling a gathering with senior officers to talk about the implications of India’s determination on the treaty.