Pakistan Defence Minister Khwaja Asif in a rhetoric move on Sunday has warned India stating it could resort to military action if it believes India’s moves on the Indus river system threaten Pakistan’s water security. The warning stemmed from widespread domestic instability and an internal water crisis that experts attribute to gross mismanagement.
In a media interaction, Asif described water as a core national security issue and said Pakistan would not hesitate to respond if it perceived a serious threat to its access to Indus basin waters. “The moment we feel that our national security — and water is part of our national security — is being threatened, we will go to war against India. Definitely,” he said.
Diverting the discussion, Asif further went on to blame India, accusing it of “weaponising water”, manipulating the Chenab River flows, and withholding data.
Recently, India’s Jal Shakti Minister CR Patil hinted that the flow of Indus waters to Pakistan could be completely stopped by June 2028. The latest warning adds to the already suspended 1960 Indus Waters Treaty, a consequence of the Pakistan-sponsored terror attack in Pahalgam in April 2025, which claimed 26 lives. India has remained steadfast in its stance and put the World Bank-brokered treaty in abeyance, until Pakistan takes credible, concrete action to dismantle its cross-border terror infrastructure.
As per the World Bank-brokered treaty Pakistan is eligible to utilise 80 per cent of the Indus water basin for its agricultural needs. However, the nations failure to manage the resources has left farmlands vulnerable.
Official data from Sindh’s irrigation department highlights a failing infrastructure: the North West Canal faces a 64.1 per cent deficit, while the Rice and Dadu Canals report shortages of 38 per cent and 82 per cent, respectively.