Pakistan's defence minister Khawaja Asif has warned that his country will go to war with India if its access to Indus waters is threatened. The statement follows New Delhi's decision to keep the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance.
Speaking to ARY News on Saturday, Khawaja Asif declared that military action would follow if Pakistan's national security, including water supplies, faced threats from India. He said India was acting at an alarming speed to disrupt flows and accused it of weaponising water and manipulating the Chenab River.
India suspended the treaty after a Pakistan-sponsored terror attack in Pahalgam in April 2025 that killed 26 people. New Delhi has stated the suspension will remain until Pakistan dismantles its cross-border terror infrastructure.
The 1960 World Bank-brokered treaty allows Pakistan to use 80 per cent of the Indus water basin. Pakistan is currently facing a severe internal water crisis affecting nearly one-third of its population, with major canal shortages reported in Sindh province.
