ISLAMABAD: Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has rejected Indian accusations linking Pakistan to the recent Pahalgam attack and warned against triggering a water war by suspending the Indus Waters Treaty.
Speaking on the floor of the upper house on Friday, Dar said Pakistan had immediately expressed condolences over the tragic incident that claimed the lives of Indian tourists. “At the time of the attack, both the Prime Minister and I were in Ankara,” he said.
Dar strongly criticised India’s response, saying New Delhi acted in haste. “After the Pahalgam incident, the Indian Prime Minister called a high-level meeting and took strange and aggressive steps,” he stated.
The foreign minister also dismissed India’s move to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), calling it illegal and a direct provocation. “The IWT was signed with the World Bank as mediator. It cannot be unilaterally suspended,” Dar stressed.
World Bank not intimated as India puts Indus Water Treaty on hold
The National Security Committee has clearly said that stopping Pakistan’s water will be considered an act of war,” he warned.
Dar reiterated that the treaty could only be dissolved through mutual consent, as agreed in the original terms. “India cannot back out of a global agreement just to build political pressure,” he said.
Tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbours have flared since gunmen opened fire on tourists in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) earlier this week.
New Delhi has blamed Pakistan without providing evidence — a charge Islamabad has strongly denied.