Islamabad, June 23: Pakistan’s former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Monday said his country will go to war if India denies Islamabad its fair share of water under the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT).
India put in abeyance the 1960 agreement soon after the April 22 Pahalgam terrorist attack that killed 26 people. 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, 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, 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.
Bilawal also accused India of “weaponising terrorism for political purposes”.
He 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.
Bilawal 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.
Apart from immediate steps such as putting the IWT in abeyance and stopping all trade with Pakistan, India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terrorist infrastructure in territories controlled by Pakistan in response to the Pahalgam terror attack.
The strikes triggered four days of intense clashes that ended with an understanding on stopping the military actions on May 10. (PTI)
