‘The moment we…’: Pakistan defense minister issues war threat to India over Indus water treaty
Pakistan Defense Minister Khawaja Asif has warned India that Islamabad may take military action if its water security is threatened. His comments come as Pakistan grapples with a worsening water crisis, more than a year after New Delhi suspended the long-standing Indus Waters Treaty following a Pakistan-backed terror attack in Pahalgam.Speaking to ARY News, Asif claimed, “When we feel that our national security and water is a part of our national security are threatened, we will go to war against India. There is no doubt about it.”He added that war would be considered if there was substantial evidence that India was disrupting water supplies at an “alarming rate”. His remarks came after Jal Shakti Minister CR Patil claimed in a video that the flow of Indus river water into Pakistan could stop completely by June 2028.
Tensions over Indus Waters Treaty
A deadly attack in Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir killed 26 people, escalating tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbors. In response, India suspended the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty, a decision that will remain in effect until Pakistan stops funding cross-border terrorism.Under a treaty brokered by the World Bank, Pakistan acquired about 80 percent of the Indus Basin, which sustains up to 80 percent of the country’s agricultural land.Asif accused India of weaponizing water, manipulating the flow of the Chenab River and withholding vital hydrological data. He pointed out that Pakistan has historically monitored Indian projects through on-site inspections under the treaty and claimed that Pakistani teams conducted around 115 inspections. But he admitted he had not had the latest information on developments over the past year.
Pakistan’s internal water crisis
The warning comes against the backdrop of severe water shortages for nearly a third of Pakistan’s population, particularly in Sindh and Balochistan provinces. Sindh Irrigation Department data shows that the North-West Canal faces a deficit of 64.1 per cent, while the Rice Canal and Grand Du Canal have shortfalls of 38 per cent and 82 per cent respectively.Sindh officials accused upstream Punjab of illegally withdrawing 53,394 cubic feet of water, exceeding its approved water consumption of 44,000 cubic feet, more than 21%.With downstream flows plummeting, local leaders have warned of an “economic carnage” coming as cross-provincial border disputes intensify.
