Pakistan Minister Issues Nuclear Threat to India Amid Indus Treaty Row
Pakistan Minister Hanif Abbasi issued a direct nuclear threat to India, warning of missile strikes if New Delhi halts water supplies, escalating tensions after the Pahalgam attack.
In a dramatic escalation of rhetoric, Pakistan’s Minister Hanif Abbasi on Sunday threatened nuclear retaliation against India, warning that Pakistan’s missile arsenal and 130 nuclear warheads are “kept only for India.” His statement came in response to India’s suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty following the deadly Pahalgam terror attack.
“If they stop the water supply to us, then they should be ready for a war,” Abbasi said, addressing media in Islamabad. “The military equipment we have, the missiles we have, they’re not for display. All our ballistic missiles — Ghori, Shaheen, Ghaznavi — are targeted at you.”
India’s decision to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty, a 1960 agreement brokered by the World Bank on water-sharing between the two nations, has triggered sharp reactions in Pakistan. Abbasi warned that blocking Pakistan’s water supply would be seen as an act of aggression, justifying a military response.
“Our nuclear weapons are not museum pieces. Nobody knows where they are placed across the country. If provoked, they will be used,” Abbasi declared.
Abbasi also mocked India’s other countermeasures, including the suspension of trade ties and visa cancellations for Pakistani nationals. Referring to India’s aviation sector, he said, “When Pakistan shut its airspace, it caused chaos for Indian airlines in just two days. Had it continued for 10 more days, their airlines would have gone bankrupt.”
He accused New Delhi of externalizing its internal security failures by blaming Pakistan for the Pahalgam terror attack that left 26 dead, mainly tourists.
The Pahalgam attack on April 22, carried out by Lashkar-e-Taiba’s proxy The Resistance Front (TRF), led to a wave of retaliatory measures from India. Apart from halting the Indus Waters Treaty and freezing trade ties, India also intensified its counter-terrorism operations across Jammu and Kashmir.
The latest verbal offensive by Abbasi reflects growing anxiety in Islamabad as the country faces diplomatic and economic isolation following the attack. There has been no official response yet from the Indian government regarding Abbasi’s threats.
