Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif offered to “sit together to talk on Kashmir and water” on Wednesday after Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared in his address to the nation that water and blood cannot flow together.
“Do not dictate us. Water is our red line; don’t even think about diverting our water,” Shehbaz Sharif was quoted as saying during a visit to Pasrur Cantonment in Sialkot, about 130 km from Lahore, to meet soldiers after the military clashes with India.
According to a report in the Pakistani daily Dawn, Shehbaz referred to Modi’s “blood and water” call – seen as an iteration of India’s resolve to not restart the Indus Waters Treaty that Delhi suspended after the terrorist attack in Pahalgam that killed 26 people.
“Yes, water and blood do not flow together. You have also hit our Neelum-Jhelum water project. If the damage was severe, we could have destroyed your major dams, including Baglihar Dam,” Shehbaz was quoted as saying.
According to Dawn, Sharif sent out a message to PM Modi: “Let us extinguish this fire. Let us sit together to talk on Kashmir and water.”
Shehbaz also claimed that Pakistan’s retaliatory actions on May 6-7 had caused significant damage to India, that the Pakistan Air Force had downed several Indian Rafale jets, and Pakistan had “taken revenge for the 1971 war”.
To India, he said: “If you attack us again, you will lose everything…. We are ready for war and dialogue. Now the choice is yours.”
Union water resources minister C.R. Paatil said that steps are being taken to ensure that not a single drop of water is allowed to leave Indian territory unutilised.
External affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal on Wednesday reinforced the government's stance, saying: "The Indus Waters Treaty was founded on goodwill and friendship. Pakistan has trampled on these values by supporting cross-border terrorism for decades."
World Bank president Ajay Banga, in an interview last week, noted that the treaty has no clause allowing for suspension.
“It either needs to be gone, or replaced by another one, and that requires the two countries to want to agree,” he explained, adding that the World Bank’s role is purely that of a facilitator, not a decision-maker.
Call with UAE President, meeting with Azerbaijani envoy
The Pakistani prime minister also spoke with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. According to an official statement, he thanked the UAE for its diplomatic support during the crisis and acknowledged the country's longstanding solidarity with Pakistan.
Shehbaz also met with Azerbaijani ambassador Khazar Farhadov in Islamabad and expressed gratitude to President Ilham Aliyev for Baku’s “firm support” during the tensions with India.