War indispensable if India violates IWT, says Bilawal
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari asserted in the National Assembly on Monday that Pakistan had secured military, diplomatic and narrative dominance over India in the recent war, warning that Pakistan would be forced to go to war again if India attempts to block the country's water in violation of the Indus Water Treaty.
The PPP chairman also vehemently condemned the Israeli and US strikes on Iran, calling the attacks illegal and dangerous.
The former foreign minister, who has returned after presenting Pakistan's stance before the world on the recent victory against India in a four-day war, said Iran's sovereignty was violated under false pretexts, with military leaders, scientists and innocent civilians targeted in their homes and nuclear facilities attacked in breach of international law.
"Any attack on nuclear facilities is not just a potential attack on Iran, if there is any leakage, it would have consequences for all neighbouring countries in the region, including Pakistan," the PPP leader said.
Since October 2023, he said, the world is seeing Israel's genocidal, apartheid-imposing expansionist regime conducting ever-expanding war, which has the potential to drag us all into World War III.
He maintained that the US conducted a more expansive attack on Iran's nuclear sites, and the Israeli government is forcing the US public into a war that the people do not support. Chairman PPP said that after decades of pushing the same lie that Iran was days away from developing nuclear weapons, a claim that the Israeli prime minister made in 1996, 2001, 2003, 2007, 2010, 2012, 2023, 2024 and in 2025.
At last, he said, Israel's regime attacked Iran under the pretext of this lie. "We condemn the attack on Iran," he said, "Iran's sovereignty was violated in violation of international law." He said that this was done through the same lie that was peddled before the American public before the Iraq war in 2003.
During his address in the National Assembly, PPP chairman said that Chief of Army Staff Field Marshall Asim Munir was invited for lunch by President Trump at the White House. "Is a defeated army ever extended such an invitation?" he questioned before saying the answer is no.
"This was a congratulatory lunch to the head of the military that defied the entire world's expectations, by defeating a country seven times larger in size and significantly bigger economically," Bilawal said, "President Trump's remarks on the meeting are a testimony of this.
Turning to Indian aggression, Bilawal cautioned that Pakistan's red lines had been crossed. He said that India said that the Indus Water Treaty was no longer to be followed after the Pahalgam attacks, saying they are holding the treaty in abeyance.
This is illegal, he said, because the treaty even today is binding on India and Pakistan.
However, the mere threat of stopping the flow of water to Pakistan is a violation of the UN Charter and is illegal, he said, saying India cannot do this.
"If India decides to implement this threat, we would have to fight another war," he warned, saying PM Shehbaz Sharif and the NSC have already stated that if the flow of water is stopped, then we would have to fight.
Reflecting on Pakistan's response to Indian aggression, Bilawal credited the PM Shehbaz Sharif-led government for resisting pressure and responding with force, in contrast to the alleged "helplessness" shown by ex-PM Imran Khan's administration in 2019.
"This time, when Kashmir was attacked, and Pakistan was attacked, we did not bow or succumb to fear; we fought a war and won," he said, noting the downing of six Indian jets and a diplomatic shift that revived international recognition of Kashmir as a disputed issue.
He also warned that India's attempts to use terrorism and water as tools of aggression would be countered forcefully.
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