Following India’s suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, the political leadership in Pakistan is running high and dry, staring at a bleak future ahead. For the first time, India has decided to hit Pakistan where it hurts the most, agriculture, food, water and energy security.
Sources in New Delhi said the Centre is planning to undertake a study to look into ways to maximise the use of the quantum of water from the three rivers that Pakistan had earlier used under the Indus Water Treaty, now that the agreement has been suspended.
The proposal was made at a high-level meeting on Saturday chaired by Home Minister Amit Shah that discussed the future course of action on the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960, which has been kept in abeyance following the Pahalgam terror attack. With the treaty now put in abeyance, the government is looking at ways to utilise the water of the Indus, Jhelum and Chenab.
After Friday’s high-level meeting, Jal Shakti Minister CR Paatil asserted that the government is working on a strategy to ensure that not a single drop of water flows into Pakistan.
“We will ensure that not a single drop of water flows into Pakistan from India,” the Jal Shakti Minister had said after the meeting. According to an official, the
Ministry has been asked to conduct a study to look at ways to utilise the water from the three western rivers.
In response to India’s decision on the water-sharing agreement, Pakistan’s Senate, in a resolution, has said the move amounted to “an act of war”.
Coupled with this, the heightened tension along the line of control has also rattled Pakistan’s military leadership,
especially after Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India will wipe out the remaining land of terror and will identify, track and punish every terrorist and their backers who were responsible for the attack in Pahalgam “beyond their imagination”.
Virtually bending on their knees, Pakistan on Saturday offered to join any “neutral and transparent” probe into the Pahalgam terrorist attack that killed 26 people.
The horrific terror attack, one of the most provocative since the scrapping of Article 370 in 2019, has triggered a strong backlash from the government against Pakistan, which New Delhi accuses of harbouring and supporting cross-border terrorism.
Addressing a graduation ceremony at the Pakistan Military Academy in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s Kakul, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that his country is open to taking part in a “credible” investigation.
“The recent tragedy in Pahalgam is yet another example of this perpetual blame game, which must come to a grinding halt. As a responsible country, Pakistan is open to participating in any neutral, transparent and credible investigation,” Shehbaz Sharif said.
However, referring to the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty by India, Sharif said any attempt to stop, reduce or divert the flow of water belonging to Pakistan would be responded to with full force and might. Sharif threatened to use all options if the water of its share was stopped by India. “Water is our lifeline and a vital national interest, and its availability will be safeguarded at all costs and under all circumstances,” he said.
If India cuts off or significantly reduces flows from the Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab, the impact will be immediate and severe on Pakistan’s economy.
To begin with, food production could collapse, threatening food security for millions. Urban water supplies would dry up, causing unrest in cities. Lastly, Power generation would stall, crippling industries and homes. Joining the chorus, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari also threatened that blood would flow in rivers if water is stopped, in a sharp response to India’s decision to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) after the Pahalgam terror attack.
Hitting out, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri Saturday issued a sharp response to Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chief Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari’s recent remarks on India’s suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) following the Pahalgam terror attack on Tuesday.
Puri’s comments come in the wake of Bhutto-Zardari’s inflammatory speech at a public rally in Sukkur, Sindh province. Addressing supporters, the PPP chairman had said, “The Indus is ours and will remain ours — either our water will flow through it, or their blood.”
Responding to Bhutto-Zardari’s statement, Puri remarked, “I heard his statement. Tell him to jump somewhere in the water. Well, how will he when there will be no water? Do not dignify such statements. They will get to understand that.”
In Ramban, J & K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah also came out to strongly rebuke Pakistan Premier Shehbaz Sharif’s offer for a “neutral” probe into the Pahalgam terror attack, while pointing out clearly that Islamabad had initially denied the incident and accused New Delhi of “staging” it.
“First of all, they did not even recognise that something had happened in Pahalgam. First, they said that India was behind it. For the people who made allegations against us in the first place, it is difficult to say anything about it now. I don’t want to give much importance to their statements,” Abdullah told reporters in Ramban. Abdullah’s reaction came after the Pakistani Prime Minister, rattled by the increasing tensions with India, said he was ready for a “neutral and transparent investigation” into the terror attack that left 26 tourists dead on April 22.