After Asim Munir’s Remarks, Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif Issues Fresh Threat to India Over Indus Waters Treaty

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday warned India that it would not be allowed to take “even one drop” of water belonging to Pakistan, escalating rhetoric over the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT).

India put the 1960 treaty “in abeyance” on April 23, a day after the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people. Pakistan has repeatedly warned that any move to block river flows would be treated as an act of war.

“If you threaten to hold our water, remember—you cannot snatch even one drop from Pakistan,” PTI quoted Sharif as saying in Islamabad, adding that India would be “taught such a lesson” if it tried.

His remarks followed similar comments from former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, who called the treaty’s suspension an attack on the Indus Valley Civilisation. Actor-turned-BJP leader Mithun Chakraborty hit back, warning of BrahMos missile strikes and mockingly suggesting a dam be built to unleash a “tsunami” on Pakistan—though he clarified his anger was directed at Islamabad’s leadership, not its people.

In the U.S., Pakistani Army chief General Asim Munir told the diaspora in Florida that Pakistan would destroy any dam India built to block water flows, declaring, “The Indus River is not the Indians’ family property.”

India’s Ministry of External Affairs condemned Munir’s “nuclear blackmail” as evidence of Pakistan’s compromised command and control, saying New Delhi will take all necessary steps to protect its national security.

The dispute unfolds against a backdrop of recent hostilities: India’s Operation Sindoor on May 7 targeted terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in response to the Pahalgam attack. After days of drone and missile exchanges, both countries agreed to a ceasefire on May 10.