ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s military on Sunday warned India that any attempt to block Pakistan’s rightful share of water from the Indus River system would have far-reaching and long-lasting consequences.
The warning follows New Delhi’s unilateral suspension of the decades-old Indus Waters Treaty, amid rising tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.
Chief military spokesman Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry warned India over its threat to cut Pakistan’s share of water from the Indus River system. He said that such a move would trigger consequences lasting for generations.
If India weaponised water and blocks the flow of an Indus River tributary, DG ISPR Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said, “It is some madman who can think that he can stop water for 240 million plus people of this country. I hope that time doesn’t come, but it will be such actions that the world will see and the consequences of that we will fight for years and decades to come. Nobody dares stop the water of Pakistan.” He said this in an interview with Arab News.
The warning comes after New Delhi last month unilaterally suspended the decades-old Indus Waters Treaty, following a deadly attack on tourists in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), which India blamed on Pakistan without presenting any credible evidence. Pakistan condemned the attack and strongly denied the allegation as baseless.
The escalating crisis led to cross-border fire and military strikes. On the night of May 6-7, India launched a series of strikes across the Line of Control (LoC) and extended attacks to sites on Pakistan’s mainland.
Pakistan responded by striking 26 Indian military targets, halting its operations once a US-brokered ceasefire came into effect on May 10.
Despite the ceasefire, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced this week that India would stop the flow of water from the Indus River system to Pakistan — a decision Islamabad has long described as a direct threat to its survival and an act of war.
Pakistan, India ceasefire
According to Pakistani officials, India’s recent strikes killed at least 40 civilians, including 22 women and children. In response, Pakistan targeted Indian military sites, carefully avoiding civilian infrastructure.
“Pakistan armed forces are a professional armed forces and we adhere to the commitments that we make, and we follow in letter and spirit the instructions of the political government and the commitments that they hold,” DG ISPR said.
“As far as the Pakistan Army is concerned, this ceasefire will hold easily and there have been confidence-building measures in communication between both sides,” he added.
Both nations have already accused each other of ceasefire violations since the truce began. The DG ISPR emphasised Pakistan’s measured response: “If any violation occurs, our response is always there … but it is only directed at those posts and those positions from where the violations of the ceasefire happen. We never target civilians. We never target any civil infrastructure.”
He further informed that India lost six aircraft and a sophisticated Russian-made S-400 air defence system during the four-day conflict.
Among the downed jets were three French Rafale fighter jets. Earlier reports had suggested five aircraft losses, but Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif confirmed earlier this week that the actual number was six.
“I can confirm that the sixth aircraft is a Mirage 2000,” Lt Gen Chaudhry stated. “We only targeted the aircraft … We could have taken out more, but we showed restraint,” he maintained.
Kashmir is core issue
The DG ISPR further warned that the potential for renewed conflict remains high unless the core issue of Kashmir is addressed.
“India’s policies of suppression and control in Kashmir are failing. Their policy on Kashmir is not working,” DG ISPR said, adding. “Till the time Indians don’t sit and talk about Kashmir, then (as) two countries we sit, and we find a solution to it, the conflict potential is there.”
In 2019, India revoked Kashmir’s special status and brought it under direct central governance — a move criticised by Pakistan and the international community.
The military spokesman said, “Peace will only be sustainable when both countries come to the table and address the root cause of conflict — Kashmir.”
Earlier, in an interview with a foreign media outlet, the DG ISPR said Pakistan is not a violent nation, reaffirming that the country’s top priority was peace, as the recent ceasefire with India holds.
“We are not a violent nation, we are a serious nation. Our first priority is peace,” Lt Gen Chaudhry told RT Arabic in an interview, according to PTV News.
“Great and sensible powers like the United States understand better what the spirit of Pakistan’s people is,” he added.
India requested ceasefire
Detailing the ceasefire process, the DG ISPR said the Indian defence ministry’s spokesperson “personally requested a ceasefire”.
“We desire peace and stability, so we said, why not?” the military spokesman was quoted as saying by PTV News.
Lt Gen Chaudhry hailed the “tremendous work” done by diplomats by “engaging the international community with great wisdom and in an extraordinary manner”.
“Pakistan, with great maturity, responded promptly, firmly and effectively, forcing the enemy to face reality,” the DG ISPR asserted.
“The nation and the Pakistan armed forces stood united like an unbreakable wall,” he said.
Lt Gen Chaudhry emphasised that to understand the Pak-India tensions, it was “essential to look into its background”.
“India is hiding behind a false narrative to conceal the truth,” the DG ISPR said. He noted that while the Indian media started blaming Pakistan “within minutes of the Pahalgam incident”, its foreign ministry spokesperson admitted two days later that the investigation was underway.
“Where is the wisdom in making allegations without investigation and evidence?” Gen Chaudhry asked rhetorically.
India sponsoring terrorism in Pakistan
He highlighted that the government had taken a clear stance that if there was any evidence, it should be given to an impartial institution, and Pakistan was ready to cooperate.
“India rejected this logical offer and, acting unilaterally, fired missiles at our mosques, martyring children, women, and elders,” the DG ISPR said.
“The sacred responsibility entrusted to the Pakistan armed forces is to protect the country’s sovereignty and borders,” Lt Gen Chaudhry stated, adding that forces had fulfilled the duty and would “continue to do so at all costs”.
The DG ISPR reiterated the military’s stance that India was “sponsoring terrorism in this region, particularly in Pakistan”.
“India is the real sponsor of ongoing terrorism in Pakistan, whether it is the khawarij or terrorist groups active in Balochistan,” Lt Gen Chaudhry said, referring to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) that the state refers to as Fitna Al Khawarij.
Last month, the military’s chief spokesperson had detailed that a Pakistani terror suspect allegedly trained by India was arrested in Punjab’s Jhelum.
