Pakistan’s former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Monday issued another hollow threat to India, saying his country will go to war if India denies Islamabad its fair share of water under the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT).
Amit Shah announced not to restore IWT
After the Pahalgam terror attack, India has put in abeyance the 1960 agreement. Home Minister Amit Shah last week announced to never restore the historic accord.
Bilawal's comments came two days after Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry criticised Shah’s “brazen disregard” for international agreements.
Bilawal rejects India’s decision on IWT
Bilawal Bhutto, in a speech in parliament, rejected the Indian decision to suspend the agreement and threatened to get Pakistan’s share of water.
“India has two options: share water fairly, or we will deliver water to us from all six rivers,” he said, referring to the six rivers of the Indus basin.
He said that the IWT was still in vogue as the agreement cannot be held in abeyance. “The attack on Sindhu (Indus River) and India’s claim that the IWT has ended and it’s in abeyance. Firstly, this is illegal, as the IWT is not in abeyance, it is binding on Pakistan and India, but the threat itself of stopping water is illegal according to the UN charter,” he said.
Bilawal’s another hollow threat of war
Bilawal Bhutto, who is head of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), also threatened that if India decides to follow through on the threat, “we will have to wage war again”.
The former foreign minister also highlighted the importance of talks and cooperation, especially in counterterrorism efforts. “If India and Pakistan refuse to talk, and if there is no coordination on terrorism, then violence will only intensify in both countries,” he said.
Furthermore, Bilawal accused India of “weaponising terrorism for political purposes” and claimed that during his diplomatic visits to the UK and European nations as foreign minister, it was evident that India had lobbied hard to reverse Pakistan’s progress on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) front.
“At a time when Pakistan had successfully moved from the FATF grey list to the white list, India made every effort to drag us back to the grey list using false narratives and diplomatic pressure,” he claimed.
He also said that Pakistan succeeded in raising the issue of Kashmir on the world stage and President Donald Trump had spoken in favour of mediation on Kashmir.
(With inputs from PTI)
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