No Compromise on Our Water Share, Pakistan warns India

DID Press: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday warned India against choking Pakistan’s share of Indus River waters, vowing that not “a single drop” would be allowed to be stolen.

Declaring water the nation’s lifeblood, he vowed a decisive response to any attempt to cut the flow amid escalating tensions over New Delhi’s move to put the Indus Waters Treaty “in abeyance”, a step Islamabad has condemned as an act of war.

“I want to tell the enemy today that if you threaten to hold our water, then keep this in mind that you cannot snatch even one drop from Pakistan,” he said while speaking at a ceremony in the capital on the occasion of International Youth Day.

“You threaten to stop our water. If you attempt such a move, Pakistan will teach you a lesson you will never forget,” he added.

Terming water the lifeblood of the nation, the premier asserted there would be “no compromise” on Pakistan’s rights under international accords. He added that a “new Pakistan” had emerged after the Pakistani armed forces dealt India a setback on May 10, when the Pakistan Air Force downed six Indian fighter jets.

The premier’s remarks came amid India’s warning to dry out Pakistan, waging a ‘hydel war’ against the country.