Like conventional war, Indian arrogance to be crushed on water issue: PM
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has strongly warned India against its continued threats and aggression over the region’s water resources, vowing that Pakistan will respond with full force and national unity to defend its rights under international agreements.
Chairing a high-level meeting focused on Pakistan’s water security, PM Shehbaz described India’s stance on the water issue as a continuation of its arrogance and hegemonic mindset. “Just like Marka-e-Haq, we will respond to India’s water aggression — and Pakistan will emerge victorious,” he declared, calling the right to water security a “collective national challenge.”
The emergency meeting, attended by chief ministers of all four provinces, the prime ministers of Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir, as well as key federal ministers, focused on formulating a comprehensive national action plan to safeguard Pakistan’s water resources amid India’s escalating hostilities.
“All leaders in the meeting unanimously condemned India’s aggressive water policy,” a statement said.
The premier confirmed that India has threatened to cut off Pakistan’s water, a move that he says violates the spirit and letter of the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960, under which Pakistan has rights over three western rivers. But, he claimed, the whole world had rejected India’s threats. He has strongly condemned India’s unilateral suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, declaring it an act of “water aggression”.
“India is making a narrative regarding the water-sharing agreement, but no one in the world has accepted it,” Shehbaz said. “All of India’s diplomatic efforts have failed miserably. Even its attempt to lobby for delaying the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) agenda by three days was unsuccessful.”
