Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader and former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto recently issued a warning to New Delhi over Operation Sindoor and the suspension of the long-standing Indus Water Treaty following the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22.
Bhutto accused the Indian government of inflicting “significant damage” to Pakistan and called on the nation to unite against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“The actions taken by the Indian government under Narendra Modi’s leadership have caused serious harm to Pakistan. It is essential that we, as a united people, stand firm against Modi and these aggressive moves,” Bhutto said during an event organised by the Sindh government’s Culture Department on Monday.
He cautioned that if India continued to suspend the Indus Water Treaty, Pakistan would be left with “no choice” but to consider war. “The people of Pakistan are strong enough to fight for the return of all six rivers. Should India persist on this course, it will force us to explore all options, including the possibility of war, to safeguard our national interests,” he stated.
Bilawal Bhutto also warned India against undertaking any operation similar to Sindoor. “We did not initiate the conflict, but if India attempts an attack like Sindoor, the people from every province of Pakistan are ready to resist — and this will be a war India will surely lose. We will never surrender,” he asserted.
His remarks followed Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir’s threat that Pakistan would take down “half the world” if faced with an existential threat in any future conflict with India.
“We are a nuclear nation. If we believe we are going down, we will take half the world down with us,” Munir declared.
He further warned that Pakistan would destroy any infrastructure India constructs on the Indus water channels that might block water flow. Munir claimed that suspending the Indus Water Treaty could endanger 250 million people with starvation.
“We have plenty of missiles. We will wait for India to build a dam, and when it does, we will destroy it with 10 missiles. The Indus River is not the property of India’s family,” he reportedly said.
India strongly condemned Munir’s nuclear threat, labelling it as ‘nuclear sabre-rattling’ from Pakistan. The Ministry of External Affairs pointed out that such statements were made from the soil of a friendly third country.
“The international community can draw its own conclusions on the irresponsibility behind such remarks, which also reinforce serious doubts about nuclear command and control in a country where the military is closely linked with terrorist groups,” the ministry said.
India reaffirmed that it will not bow to “nuclear blackmail” and will continue to take all necessary measures to safeguard national security. (Agencies)
