ISLAMABAD– Warning of a looming humanitarian disaster, Pakistani Senator Syed Ali Zafar on Friday issued a stark appeal to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government, urging it to defuse the “water bomb” threatening the country’s survival following India’s suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT).
“We will die of hunger if we don’t resolve this crisis now,” Zafar said during a Senate session. “The Indus Basin is our lifeline—three-fourths of our water comes from beyond our borders. Nine out of ten Pakistanis rely on it for their livelihood, and 90 percent of our crops depend on it. Every power project and dam in Pakistan is built on it. This is no less than a water bomb, and we must defuse it.”
India’s suspension of the 1960 World Bank-brokered treaty, which governs the distribution of water from the Indus, Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej rivers between India and Pakistan, came in the immediate aftermath of the April 22 terrorist attack in Pahalgam that killed 26 civilians. In response, India launched Operation Sindoor and placed the treaty in abeyance, invoking national security concerns.
Islamabad has since launched diplomatic appeals urging New Delhi to reverse the decision, with Pakistan’s National Security Committee and Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar issuing strongly worded statements. However, India has remained resolute, demanding Pakistan “credibly and irrevocably” end its support for cross-border terrorism before any reconsideration of the treaty can occur.
India’s Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), the country’s top strategic decision-making body, backed the suspension. The move marks the first time New Delhi has paused the treaty since its inception.
Reinforcing India’s position, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated Thursday, “The treaty will remain in abeyance until Pakistan ends its support for terrorism. As our Prime Minister has said, water and blood cannot flow together. Trade and terror cannot coexist.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi echoed this message at a rally in Bikaner, Rajasthan, declaring, “There will be no talks, no trade with Pakistan until it relinquishes illegal occupation of Kashmir. If there is to be any dialogue, it will be about Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). If Pakistan continues to export terrorists, it will be left begging for every penny—it won’t receive a single drop of Indian water.”
Modi warned that any further acts of terror would carry a steep price. “Playing with the blood of Indians will cost Pakistan dearly,” he said.
As tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbors escalate, concerns are mounting over the humanitarian, agricultural, and economic fallout in Pakistan should the water impasse persist. (Source: IANS)
