International: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, ignited a wave of nationalistic fervor, issuing a stark warning to India during a charged public rally. His declaration, “The Indus belongs to us and it always will. Either our water will flow through it—or their blood will,” underscored the escalating tensions between the two nations following India’s contentious suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty.
This dramatic pronouncement came in the wake of a series of retaliatory measures by New Delhi, triggered by the devastating terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu & Kashmir. India’s response, which included the suspension of the landmark 1960 water treaty, the downgrading of diplomatic relations, the expulsion of Pakistani military attachés, and the closure of the Attari land transit route, has significantly strained the already fragile relationship between the neighboring countries.
India’s actions were prompted by the Pahalgam attack, which tragically claimed the lives of 26 civilians, many of whom were tourists. The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy group allegedly linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), claimed responsibility for the atrocity. Indian officials have consistently attributed the incident to cross-border terrorism originating from Pakistan, further deepening the divide.
Bhutto-Zardari, however, vehemently refuted India’s accusations, alleging that Pakistan was being unjustly scapegoated to conceal India’s own internal intelligence failures and security lapses. His fiery rhetoric has contributed to the already heightened state of hostility between the two nuclear-armed nations.
In response to India’s suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif convened an emergency meeting with senior cabinet members, which included Bhutto-Zardari. The Pakistani government is also re-evaluating the controversial canals development project as a critical component of broader strategic water management discussions, reflecting the gravity of the unfolding situation.
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