Pakistan Defence Minister Threatens War Over Indus
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- Khawaja Asif told ARY News that Pakistan would go to war "the moment we feel that our national security — and water is part of our national security — is being threatened," framing the Indus dispute as an existential issue.
- CR Patil, India's Jal Shakti Minister, appeared in a video clip suggesting Indus water flow to Pakistan could be completely stopped by June 2028, the trigger for Asif's escalation.
- India suspended the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty after the April 2025 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people, conditioning any restoration on Islamabad taking "credible and irreversible action" against cross-border terrorism.
- The Indus Waters Treaty allocates roughly 80% of the basin's waters to Pakistan, a share Pakistan's government says is critical to its agriculture, irrigation network and broader economy.
- Ishaq Dar, Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister, last week sought UN Security Council intervention over what he called Indian violations of the treaty.
- Pakistan alleged India plans a river-linking project to reroute water from the Chenab, calling it a serious breach of the treaty and other international obligations.
Why it matters: Two nuclear-armed neighbours are now framing a treaty dispute in military terms, with Pakistan's defence minister explicitly invoking war and India floating a June 2028 water cutoff. The treaty governs roughly 80% of the Indus basin's allocation to Pakistan, so any unilateral Indian restriction would directly affect millions of Pakistani farmers and Pakistan's broader economy — giving Islamabad a concrete, time-stamped grievance to rally around at the UN and beyond.
