WASHINGTON -UNS/APP:Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari PPP Chairman on Thursday said that India was laying the ground for the first nuclear war over water with its actions regarding the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) with Pakistan.
India held the IWT in abeyance after the further deterioration in relations between the two countries following the April 22 Pahalgam attack in occupied Kashmir. In retaliation, Pakistan decided that it would exercise the right to hold all bilateral agreements with India, including but not limited to the Simla Agreement, in abeyance. It also announced the closure of the Wagah border and suspension of all trade with New Delhi, among other measures.
Pakistan has launched a broad-based engagement campaign in the United States to present its perspective on the recent spike in tensions with India, and counter New Delhi’s growing lobbying presence there. As part of its global outreach, the team will also visit London and Brussels. The delegation comprises former foreign ministers Bilawal, Hina Rabbani Khar and Khurram Dastgir; Senators Sherry Rehman, Musadik Malik, Faisal Sabzwari and Bushra Anjum Butt; along with senior envoys Jalil Abbas Jilani and Tehmina Janjua.
Addressing the Middle East Institute in Washington, Bilawal said: “In the age of climate challenges that are to come, water scarcity and water wars used to be a theory. India shutting off Pakistan’s water supply is laying the foundations for the first nuclear water war. We have said that cutting off our water supply would be an act of war.