New Delhi:
Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri today issued a sharp response to Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chief Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari’s recent remarks on India’s suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) following the Pahalgam terror attack on Tuesday.
Mr Puri’s comments come in the wake of Mr Bhutto-Zardari’s inflammatory speech at a public rally in Sukkur, Sindh province. Addressing supporters, the PPP chairman had said, “The Indus is ours and will remain ours – either our water will flow through it, or their blood.”
Responding to Mr Bhutto-Zardari’s statement, Mr Puri remarked, “I heard his statement. Tell him to jump somewhere in water. Well, how will he when there will be no water? Do not dignify such statements. They will get to understand that.”
“The Pahalgam incident is unequivocally a cross-border terrorist attack unleashed by a neighbouring state, and they are taking responsibility. Unlike before, no business will continue. Like Prime Minister Modi said, Pakistan will have to pay a heavy price, and this is just the beginning. The terrorists take away the most fundamental right to life. This is being condemned by the entire world. Pakistan is not just a rogue state, it is a country in terminal decline,” he added.
#WATCH | Mohali | On #Pahalgamterrorattack, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri says, “The Pahalgam incident is unequivocally a cross-border terrorist attack unleashed by a neighbouring state and they are taking its responsibility… Unlike before, no business will continue. Like… pic.twitter.com/IP6eGPIGIW
— ANI (@ANI) April 26, 2025
Mr Puri also commented on the throat-slitting gesture made by Colonel Taimur Rahat, the Pakistan Army and Air Advisor at the Pakistan High Commission in London.
“This is state-sponsored terrorism. We have reached a point where they will have to pay a price. If they (Pakistan) think that they can survive the suspension of the Indus Water Treaty, I wish them best of luck,” he said.
India has downgraded diplomatic ties with Islamabad after the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam that killed 26 people, predominantly tourists. According to intelligence sources, terrorists involved in the attack are linked to the Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba.
In retaliation to India’s suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, Pakistan suspended the Simla Agreement and placed other bilateral accords on hold. Islamabad further announced the suspension of all trade activities, closure of its airspace for Indian airlines, and warned that any attempt by India to divert waters destined for Pakistan under the IWT would be considered an “act of war”.
The Simla Agreement, signed in 1972 between former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and then Pakistani President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (Bilawal’s grandfather), was a huge leap in diplomatic ties between the two countries following the 1971 war.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif addressed the Pahalgam terror attack at a graduation ceremony at the Pakistan Military Academy in Kakul in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province. Mr Sharif expressed Pakistan’s willingness to participate in a neutral investigation, saying, “The recent tragedy in Pahalgam is yet another example of this perpetual blame game, which must come to a grinding halt. Continuing with its role as a responsible country, Pakistan is open to participating in any neutral, transparent and credible investigation.”
