Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday pledged that his country would not let India take "even a single drop" of water that rightfully belongs to his country, amid ongoing tensions between the two nuclear-armed nations.
The decades-old Indus Waters Treaty, which governs the sharing of the Indus River, was put "in abeyance" by India a day after the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that claimed 26 lives.
You will be again taught such a lesson...: PM
Pakistan has repeatedly warned that any interference to stop the water would be treated as an act of war. "I want to tell the enemy today that if you threaten to hold our water, then keep this in mind that you cannot snatch even one drop of Pakistan," Prime Minister Sharif said while addressing a ceremony in Islamabad.
He warned that if India attempted such an act, "you will be again taught such a lesson that you will be left holding your ears."
Earlier, former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari termed the IWT's suspension an attack on the Indus Valley Civilisation and said the nation would not back down if New Delhi forced it into war.
Asim Munir dam threat on suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty
In an address to the Pakistani diaspora in Tampa, Florida, Army Chief Asim Munir said that India's decision to suspend it could endanger 250 million people with the risk of starvation. He said that Islamabad would destroy any dam if it cut off water flow to Pakistan.
"We will wait for India to build a dam, and when they do so, we will destroy it," he was quoted as saying by the Dawn newspaper. "The Indus River is not the Indians' family property. We have no shortage of resources to undo the Indian designs to stop the river."
India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam attack that killed 26 civilians. India and Pakistan reached an understanding on May 10 to end the conflict after four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes
(With PTI inputs)
Also Read: 'Osama in suit': Ex-Pentagon official tears into Asim Munir over nuclear rant, calls for US visa ban
Also Read: Bilawal Bhutto reiterates empty war rhetoric: 'If India builds dams, there will be war...'
