Pak politician's ‘water bomb' and ‘famine' warning to his govt over suspension of Indus Waters Treaty
'Water scarcity is a war being imposed on us. Predictions about 21st-century wars being fought over water are proving true,' PTI news agency quoted senator Ali Zafar of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party as saying.
'If we don't solve our water issues, we may face famine. The Indus is our lifeline – it's essentially a water bomb hanging over us that we must defuse,' he told the senate, according to the news agency.
Zafar claimed that the Indus Water Treaty "explicitly bars India from stopping Pakistan's water share and claimed that it cannot be unilaterally suspended.
Also Read | Pakistan minister calls for 'dialogue' with India, warns over Indus Waters Treaty: 'Act of war…'
'If India wants to terminate the agreement, both countries must negotiate a new one. They (Indians) cannot simply nullify it – they would have to dismantle their dams first,' he said.
Zafar also claimed that under international law, force can be used in self-defence if the water flow is stopped, according to PTI.
A day after the April 22 terrorist attack in Baisaran near Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam, India took major punitive actions against Pakistan, including the decision to keep the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance.
Brokered by the World Bank, the 1960 treaty defines a mechanism for water sharing and information exchange between the two nuclear-armed neighbour nations for the use of the Indus River water and its five tributaries Sutlej, Beas, Ravi, Jhelum, and Chenab.
Also Read | India's 5 big moves against Pakistan: One month since Pahalgam terror attack
Pakistan has called on India to reconsider its decision to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty, describing it as unilateral and a violation of the pact's terms.
Questions over the treaty were also raised after India and Pakistan reached a ceasefire understanding on May 10, following intense cross-border fighting after Operation Sindoor.
Also Read | India to rebuild canals, dig new ones to tap into Indus
However, external affairs minister S Jaishankar made it clear that New Delhi is willing to hold talks with Islamabad only on the issue of terror. He asserted that the Indus Waters Treaty will remain in abeyance until cross-border terrorism by Pakistan is "irrevocably stopped".
On Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reaffirmed that Pakistan will not get water from India's rivers, reiterating the continued suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty.
"Pakistan will not get a single drop of water that belongs to India. Playing with the blood of Indians will cost Pakistan dearly. This is India's resolve and no one in the world can deter us from this commitment," he said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
26 minutes ago
- Business Standard
No third party intervention in ceasefire with Pak during Op Sindoor: EAM
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday made it clear that there was no third party intervention in bringing about a ceasefire with Pakistan during Operation Sindoor, asserting that the halting of the Operation was not linked to trade. Intervening in the special discussion on Operation Sindoor in the Rajya Sabha, Jaishankar said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump did not have any phone calls between April 22 and June 16. The Opposition has been attacking the government on claims made by Trump on mediation in halting of hostilities between India and Pakistan by using the threat of trade. He said India will not tolerate any cross-border terrorism and has responded to Pakistan by carrying out Operation Sindoor and will continue to do so whenever the neighbouring country attacked again. Noting that the Pahalgam terror attack was absolutely unacceptable, he said a redline was crossed by Pakistan and there had to be accountability and justice. "Blood and water will not flow together," he said, justifying India's suspension of the Indus Water Treaty with Pakistan. Jaishankar said the Modi government has corrected wrongs of Nehru's policies by suspending the Treaty. The Treaty signed by then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru was not to buy peace, but for appeasement. The External Affairs Minister said terrorism is now on the global agenda only because of the efforts of the Modi government. He said India exerted huge pressure on Pakistan through the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) process and also despite not being a member of the UN Security Council, India was able to get UN recognition that The Resistance Front (TRF) is proxy of Pakistan-based LeT. The TRF had claimed responsibility for the Pahalgam attack.
Deccan Herald
26 minutes ago
- Deccan Herald
No third party intervention in ceasefire with Pakistan during Operation Sindoor: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in Rajya Sabha
Intervening in the special discussion on Operation Sindoor in the Rajya Sabha, Jaishankar said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump did not have any phone calls between April 22 and June 16.
Hindustan Times
26 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Modi must show courage to rebut Trump's claims: Rahul Gandhi
Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday alleged the Centre lacked 'political will' during Operation Sindor and said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should not sacrifice the armed forces for 'petty political gains', daring him to categorically rebut US President Donald Trump's claims about brokering a ceasefire between India and Pakistan. Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi speaks during the discussion on Operation Sindoor in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday. (Sansad TV/ANI Grab) Gandhi cast doubts on defence minister Rajnath Singh's remarks about the Indian director general of military operation's communication with his Pakistani counterpart on May 7, challenged external affairs minister S Jaishankar's assertions on diplomacy, and hit out at the PM. 'This is a very dangerous time, and we can't afford a PM who lacks the courage to utilise the army the way it has to be used. We can't afford a PM who doesn't have the guts to say from here that Donald Trump is a liar, that he didn't stop India from fighting and is lying about the planes,' Gandhi said in the Lower House during a special discussion on Operation Sindoor Gandhi alleged that Trump has stated '29 times' that he brought about a ceasefire between India and Pakistan. 'If he is lying, the PM should say here that Trump is lying. If he has the courage of Indira Gandhi, let him say here, 'Trump, you are a liar, you did not make a ceasefire and we did not lose any planes',' Gandhi said. Participating in the discussion on Operation Sindoor in the Lok Sabha, Gandhi said Jaishankar's statement on China being a bigger economy in the context of bilateral tensions showed 'complete bankruptcy' 'He said they have a bigger economy and he said, are we going to fight China? This means he is scared. Don't allow India to be reduced to a battlefield where large powers are fused together. I want to tell Modi, the nation is above your image, politics and PR (public relations). Our forces are above your image, PR and politics. Have humility and dignity to understand and do not sacrifice our armed forces for your petty political gains,' Gandhi said. Gandhi questioned India's diplomatic success and said, 'The man behind the Pahalgam attack was Munir (Pakistan army chief Asim Munir) and he was having lunch with the US President. PM Modi never asked, why did Trump have lunch with Munir? According to this government, they have deterred Pakistan. But the mastermind was having lunch with President Trump.' Gandhi quoted Trump saying that he wanted to thank Munir for ending the war and said, 'Right now, General Munir, a US general and others are having a conference on tackling terror. I don't know which planet our external affairs minister is sitting on. Please come down.' Gandhi also questioned the policy of the new normal of the Centre, which has said that an act of terror amounts to an act of war, and argued that any terrorist can start a wart by launching a terror attack in India. 'You have taken the entire idea of deterrence and turned it upside down. This government is clueless about deterrence,' he said. India's biggest foreign policy challenge, Gandhi argued, was to keep Pakistan and China separate. He said that the Centre 'destroyed' the foreign policy as China and Pakistan got fused. 'The truth is: the government thought they were fighting against Pakistan. But they realised that the Pakistan air force was attached to the Chinese air force. The Chinese were feeding critical battlefield information and satellite information.' Gandhi said Jaishankar's ideas about a two-front war were wrong. 'We are facing China and Pakistan fused as one militarily. It is dangerous for the PM to use forces to protect his image. Forces should be used for national interest. Fight properly and defeat Pakistan once and for all.' The Congress leader also took on Rajnath Singh. He said that Indian armed forces' 'hands were tied' during Operation Sindoor as restrictions were imposed on what all they could attack. Gandhi pointed at recent statements made by captain Shiv Kumar, India's defence attache to Indonesia, and Lt. General Rahul R Singh. 'He (Rajnath) said the most shocking thing: We don't want escalation. The DGMO of India was told by the govt of India to agree to a ceasefire. You said, will not hit military targets. You told Pakistan your political will that you don't want to fight. The govt of India informed the govt of Pakistan that we have no political will. It amounts to immediate surrender in 30 minutes,' Gandhi said. Gandhi raked up the issue of how many fighter jets India lost and blamed the political leadership for it, while supporting the armed forces and said India wouldn't have lost any plane if Modi had 50% of late PM Indira Gandhi's courage. Gandhi compared the 1971 Bangladesh War with Operation Sindoor. 'Our soldiers are like tigers. But they have to be given full freedom. There must be political will and freedom of operation. If you want to use Indian armed forces, you should have political will and you have to give full freedom of operation. In 1971, there was political will. The US 7th fleet was coming to India. Then PM Indira Gandhi said, we have to do what we need to do in Bangladesh. The superpower of the world is coming with its aircraft carrier. But she had political will. Indira Gandhi gave full freedom to the armed forces. 1 lakh Pakistani soldiers surrendered and a new county was born.'
