 "The Baglihar Dam in Jammu and Kashmir's Ramban after India cut the flow of water through the dam on the Chenab river following suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty. PTI")
Pakistan Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Tuesday said that the ceasefire between New Delhi and Islamabad could be “threatened” if the “water issue” is not resolved in the upcoming talks between the two countries.
In an interview with CNN, Dar referred to the IWT, which was put in abeyance following the Pahalgam attack of April 22. He said that the failure to solve the “water issue will amount to an act of war.”
The Pakistani minister’s comments come just a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi said “blood and water cannot flow together”, reasserting the External Affairs Minister’s previous order that IWS will continue to remain in abeyance despite the halt of military operations.
‘Hope India rolls back order on IWT’
At the same time that Dar has threatened to violate the ceasefire, Pakistan’s Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb is hoping that New Delhi “rolls back” the IWT into its original framework and drops the suspension.
He said there is not going to be any immediate impact from India’s suspension and Pakistan does not “even want to consider any scenario which does not take into account the reinstatement of this treaty.”
He also claimed that the recent military escalation with India won’t have a large fiscal impact on Pakistan and can be managed within the current fiscal space, with no need for a new economic assessment.
‘Blood and water can’t flow together’
In his first address to the nation after Operation Sindoor, PM Modi said, “Operation Sindoor has drawn a new line under the fight against terrorism – this is a new phase, a new normal. If there is a terror attack on India, we will give a jaw-breaking response. India will not tolerate any nuclear blackmail.”
He added, “Terror and talk cannot take place together. Terror and trade cannot take place together. And, water and blood also cannot flow together.”