ISLAMABAD:
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, head of a parliamentary delegation that is touring world capitals to rally support for Pakistan following a recent confrontation with India, has warned that Pakistan may take more aggressive steps if India constructs new canals or dams on the three rivers within its territory.
“India’s threat to shut off the water supply to 240 million people in Pakistan is a violation of the UN Charter. Were they to act on it, Pakistan has been very clear: we’d consider that an act of war,” he said in an interview with Sky News during his visit to the UK on Monday.
He was referring to India’s unilateral suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWTT) after the April 22 militant attack in the Pahalgam area of the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
The attack brought the two nuclear armed countries to the brink of war with both the hostile neighbours launching missile, drones and airstrikes inside each other’s territories during a four-day conflict suddenly brought to an end by a ceasefire announced by US President Donald Trump.
Condemned weaponization of water by the eastern neighbour, Bilawal said,” We can’t allow this precedent to be set; we can’t weaponize water Were they to build new canals or a new dam on the three rivers in Pakistan’s domain, we’d have to take a more aggressive step.”
Bilawal, also the chairman of the PPP, said Pakistan had been at war with India before and also had many exchanges, but never had such a drastic step been taken.
“At the moment, the threshold for conflict between India and Pakistan is the lowest it has ever been in our history. We’ve achieved a ceasefire, but we have not achieved peace.”
He said throughout the recent escalation, Pakistan had acted with restraint and responsibility, and even today, “Pakistan’s message is that we want peace, peace through dialogue and diplomacy. We believe there is no military solution to any of the issues between India and Pakistan.”
He said that unfortunately, India refused to talk and the delegation was going from capital to capital, engaging with the international community, seeking their assistance in this pursuit for peace.
“Pakistan believes there needs to be dialogue and diplomacy where we discuss all issuesterrorism, Kashmir, or waterand start moving forward.”
The former foreign minister said there is no legal term for suspending or holding the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) in abeyance as besides Pakistan and India, it also includes international institutions as a party which require consensus for any changes.
To a question, he said the water had not stopped flowing into Pakistan as India lacked the capacity at the moment to completely stop it, but they have delayed the release.
To a question, Bilawal told the interviewer that Pakistan had taken effective action against terrorist groups under the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) framework and was removed from the FATF grey list, which evidenced the international community’s endorsement of Pakistan’s actions against such groups.
He said the terrorist attack that took place on April 22 in India had nothing to do with Pakistan – carried out by an indigenous group within India.
Reiterating Pakistan’s stance that US President Trump deserved credit for the Pakistan-India ceasefire, he said throughout this episode, India had engaged in misinformation and disinformation.
“They’ve not been honest with their own public, the media, or their allies, and this is one additional thing they’re not honest about They went to war on the basis of a lie, and then they couldn’t win that war.
“They lied about the planes we shot down, they lied about the details of this terrorist attack,” he said.
Bilawal said India failed to name a single terrorist involved in this attack, reveal his identity or any information about border crossing.
Emphasising the UK’s “unique role” in the entire situation, he said the country should encourage India to engage in dialogue with Pakistan.
“India said no to an impartial investigation when we asked for one into the terrorist attack. They say no to mediation, be it from the UK or the US, and they say no to dialogue with Pakistan.
“If they’re stuck in the status quo, we’ve lowered the conflict threshold between India and Pakistan to the point where any terrorist attack means war.”
Calling Pakistan’s engagements with the UK “really positive,” he said the UK government was keen to encourage both sides to engage in dialogue to deal with all issues. “It is only the Indians who are being difficult about this,” he said.
Meanwhile, the high-level Pakistani parliamentary delegation, led by Bilawal, engaged with eminent members of the British think tank, academia, and policymaking community at the prestigious Chatham House, one of the UK’s leading think tanks focused on foreign and security policy issues.
The closed-door discussion was held under the “Chatham House Rules,” which is used around the world to encourage inclusive and open dialogue in meetings.
Bilawal and other delegation members conveyed Pakistan’s perspective on the recent escalation in South Asia while expressing serious concern about India’s unprovoked military aggression that resulted in civilian casualties and posed a significant threat to regional stability.
They underscored that India’s actions constituted a clear violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty, international law, and the United Nations Charter.
The Pakistan delegation said Pakistan’s armed forces, with the full support of the people of Pakistan, had given a befitting response to India, demonstrating Pakistan’s resolve to defend its sovereignty, and thwarting India’s ambitions to set any new so-called “normal” in the region.
The delegation noted that the pending resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute remains the principal stumbling block to lasting peace and stability in the region.
They urged the international community to support meaningful dialogue and ensure respect for international commitments and human rights.
