Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif threatened war against India over water security after New Delhi said its decision to keep the Indus Waters Treaty suspended “has not changed”.
Asif’s statement comes as the Pakistani government faces widespread internal instability and an internal water crisis that experts attribute to gross mismanagement.
Speaking to ARY News on Saturday, Asif declared: “The moment we feel that our national security, and water is part of our national security, is threatened, we will go to war against India. Absolutely.”
He further claimed that military action would be considered if Islamabad finds evidence that India is acting with “worrying speed” to disrupt water supplies.
India has been firm about suspending the agreement Indus Waters Treaty of 1960, as a result of the Pakistan-sponsored terrorist attack in Pahalgam in April 2025, which killed 26 people. New Delhi said the treaty will remain suspended until Pakistan takes concrete and credible measures to dismantle its cross-border terrorist infrastructure.
while The World Bank-brokered treaty historically allows Pakistan to use 80 percent of the Indus River water basin for its agricultural needs, but the country’s current failure to manage these resources has left its agricultural lands at risk.
Khawaja Asif accuses India of “weaponizing water”, fails to back up his claim
Khawaja Asif tried to shift the blame for Pakistan’s water shortages to New Delhi, accusing it of “using water as a weapon,” manipulating the flows of the Chenab River, and withholding data.
However, he admitted that he had no current information on developments over the past year, despite his claims that Pakistani teams had previously conducted “about 115 inspections”.
On the other hand, Pakistan’s internal failure to manage water resources has become clearly evident, with a severe water crisis now affecting nearly a third of its population, especially in Sindh and the province. Balochistan provinces.
Official data from the Sindh Irrigation Department highlights failing infrastructure: the North-West Canal faces a 64.1 per cent deficit, while the Rice and Dadu Canals are at 38 per cent and 82 per cent respectively.
As water levels at the critical Sukkur Dam continue to collapse, local leaders warn of “economic carnage” caused by the state’s inability to resolve internal disputes over water distribution.
