Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday warned that India would not be allowed to take “even a single drop” of Pakistan’s water, amid rising tensions between the two countries.
The statement came after India suspended the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) following the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22 and imposed other punitive measures on Pakistan. Pakistan has repeatedly cautioned that any interference with its water supply would be considered an act of war.
Addressing a ceremony in Islamabad, Sharif said, “If you threaten to take our water, remember you cannot snatch even one drop of Pakistan.” He added that any such attempt would result in a lesson India would regret, PTI reported.
A day earlier, former Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari described India’s suspension of the IWT as an attack on the Indus Valley civilisation and pledged Pakistan would not back down if forced into conflict.
Earlier, Army Chief Asim Munir, speaking to the Pakistani diaspora in Florida, warned that Pakistan would destroy any dam built by India that blocked its water. “The Indus River does not belong to India. We have the resources to counter any attempt to stop its flow,” he said.
The tensions followed India’s Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir, a retaliation for the Pahalgam attack that killed 26 civilians. After four days of cross-border drone and missile strikes, both sides reached an understanding on May 10 to end the hostilities.
