Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Monday issued a fresh warning to India, declaring that Pakistan was prepared to fight “on all fronts" after New Delhi reiterated last week that the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) would continue to remain in abeyance because of Islamabad’s ongoing support for cross-border terrorism.
The 1960 agreement was suspended by India in 2025 among a series of punitive steps taken after the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, which left 26 people dead. On Friday, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) maintained that there had been no change in India’s position on the treaty.
While addressing a public gathering in Pakistan, Bhutto accused India of trying to “weaponise" the waters of the Indus River and insisted that Pakistan would not yield on what it considers its rights over the river.
“Pakistan remains ready for war and will never compromise on Indus river’s rights. This is an attempt to weaponise the river waters against us," Bhutto said.
Reiterating New Delhi’s stance last week, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the Indus Waters Treaty “stands in abeyance" because of Pakistan’s continued backing of cross-border terrorism. “Pakistan must credibly and irrevocably abjure its support for cross-border terrorism," Jaiswal said.
Facilitated by the World Bank, the treaty has regulated the sharing of waters from the Indus River system between India and Pakistan since 1960.
Speaking at a seminar in Islamabad last week, Pakistan Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar dismissed India’s decision to suspend the treaty’s operation, saying the agreement “remains valid, binding and operative". Bhutto’s comments reinforced Pakistan’s position while raising the level of rhetoric through a warning of military confrontation.
Senior intelligence sources told CNN-News18 that Bhutto’s remarks constituted “inflammatory and baseless rhetoric" intended to heighten tensions and circulate what they described as misinformation regarding India’s handling of the Indus waters.
“Bhutto’s statement is inflammatory and baseless rhetoric which is given deliberately to incite tensions and spread falsehoods about India’s peaceful water management under the Indus Waters Treaty," the sources said.
“Pakistan’s repeated attempts to internationalise bilateral issues and its history of cross-border terrorism expose its own aggressive designs. India is committed to the Treaty while reserving all rights to protect its national interests against any provocative threats or hybrid warfare from Pakistan," the sources added.
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