After Asim Munir, Pak PM Shehbaz Sharif Threatens India Over Indus Water Spat: ‘Won’t Allow You to Snatch a Single Drop’
The war of words between India and Pakistan has intensified, with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif issuing a direct threat on Tuesday over the contentious Indus Waters Treaty, warning that the “enemy” would not be allowed to snatch “even one drop” of his country’s water. His remarks follow a string of belligerent statements from Pakistan’s top military and political leadership, including a nuclear threat from Army Chief Asim Munir, dramatically escalating tensions over the water-sharing agreement.
“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,” Sharif declared at a ceremony in Islamabad. He warned that if India attempted to restrict water flow, “you will be again taught such a lesson that you will be left holding your ears.”
The fresh threat comes after India put the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) in “abeyance” on April 23, a day after a terrorist attack in Pahalgam claimed 26 lives. The punitive measure was part of India’s response, which included retaliatory strikes called “Operation Sindoor” on May 7, leading to four days of intense cross-border exchanges before a ceasefire was agreed upon on May 10.
Sharif’s comments echo those made by other senior Pakistani figures. Army Chief General Asim Munir, speaking to the Pakistani diaspora in Florida, reportedly threatened to destroy any dam India builds to impede water flow. “We will wait for India to build a dam, and when they do so, we will destroy it with ten missiles,” Munir was quoted as saying, adding, “The Indus River is not the Indians’ family property.” Former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari also termed the suspension of the IWT an “attack on the Indus Valley Civilisation” and warned that Pakistan would not back down from war.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs has hit back strongly, particularly at Munir’s nuclear rhetoric, dismissing it as Pakistan’s “stock-in-trade” and “nuclear sabre-rattling.” New Delhi said the remarks reinforce doubts about the integrity of Pakistan’s nuclear command and control, and expressed regret that they were made on the soil of a friendly country like the United States. India has maintained it will not give in to “nuclear blackmail” and will take all necessary steps to safeguard its security.
The heated rhetoric also drew a sharp, if bizarre, response from actor-turned-BJP leader Mithun Chakraborty. Reacting to Bilawal Bhutto’s comments, Chakraborty warned that if provoked, India would respond with a series of Brahmos missiles. He added a strange taunt, suggesting a dam could be built where “140 crore Indians will relieve themselves” before unleashing a “tsunami” on the neighbouring nation, while clarifying his anger was directed at the Pakistani establishment and not its people.
