The president of the Popular Party of Pakistan (PPP), Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, delivered a strong and challenging message to India on Saturday, warning that any attempt to undermine Pakistan’s rights over the Indo River would find a fierce resistance.
Going to a great demonstration in Sukkur, Bilawal declared that the Indo belongs to Pakistan and will continue to be so, despite the unilateral movements of New Delhi. “I let it modify this clearly: the Indo is ours, and will continue to be ours. Or our water will flow or his blood will do it,” he warned, standing on the shores of the Historic River.
The president of the PPP strongly condemned India’s decision to suspend the Indo’s Waters Treaty after accusations against Pakistan for Pahalgam’s recent terrorist attack.
He accused Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to level “false and without foundation” accusations to cover internal failures and deceive the Indian public. “Every time there are disturbances in Kashmir, India blames Pakistan to distract from his own weaknesses,” Bilawal said.
He stressed that the unilateral withdrawal of India of the Treaty of the Water of the Indo, a binding international agreement, would not be recognized worldwide or by the people of Pakistan.
“Modi’s efforts to take care of the Indo will fail. We are the legitimate heirs and defenders of the Sindhu (Indo), and we will protect it at all costs,” he said.
Bilawal reaffirmed that Pakistan’s armed forces are fully prepared to deliver a strong response to any Indian aggression. “We will confront India bravely, and our forces will give them an adequate response at the borders,” he said.
He urged Pakistan people to join to defend the rights and sovereignty of the country’s water. “The four provinces must be united to deliver a strong and united response to the provocations of Modi,” he said, asking the Pakistani to act as ambassadors of the Indo River and protect their inheritance.
“This is a victory for the peaceful and democratic struggle,” Bilawal added. “We will not allow anyone, inside or outside Pakistan, steal our water or divide our nation.”
There are no new channels without provincial consensus
Bilawal praised the recent consensus between the PPP and the Pakistan-Nawaz Muslim League (PML-N) to block any new channel construction project without the total consent of all the provinces. “Now it is an established policy: new channels will not be built without the approval of all provinces and the public,” he said.
He stressed that the federal government, which responded to public objections, had agreed that any water project that lacked consensus would be returned to the interested authorities. “Since July, we have raised objections to the proposed channel projects, and we will continue to protect the water rights of Sindh,” he said.
The president of the PPP also pointed out that the Common Interest Council (CCI) would soon meet to formally support this policy, ensuring that the rights of all provinces are respected under the 1991 water agreement and the 2018 Water Policy. He thanked Prime Minister Shehbaz for hearing the concerns raised by Sindh and other interested parties.
