Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has accused India of responding emotionally and irrationally to the recent Pahalgam terror attack by suspending the decades-old Indus Waters Treaty.
In an interview to BBC, shared on the official Twitter account of the Secretariat of the Chairman of PPP, Bhutto said, “At the end of the day, it’s the Indian side that’s emotional right now. It’s the Indian side that’s irrational right now. I believe that Pakistan has responded very calmly to a whole host of absurd accusations.”
India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty following the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, which killed 25 tourists and one Kashmiri civilian.
India has blamed the attack on Pakistan-based terrorist outfits.
Bhutto, who served as Pakistan’s Foreign Affairs Minister till 2023 and remains a member of the ruling coalition, reacted strongly to the move.
“India has accused Pakistan of the Pahalgam incident, with Modi making false allegations to conceal his own weaknesses and deceive his people. He has unilaterally decided to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty, under which India had acknowledged that the Indus belongs to Pakistan. Standing here in Sukkur by the Indus, I want to tell India that the Indus is ours and will remain ours. Either water will flow in this Indus, or their blood will,” Bilawal thundered just a few days back.
Now during the interview, the BBC journalist asked whether he felt emotional during his reaction, Bhutto clarified, “Look, I am not stationed on the border with a gun on my hand, nor was I holding a position in the government…I was speaking to a political rally on the banks of the river Indus…the day after this water treaty was violated by India…I think it was a personal reaction from my side.”
When asked by the BBC about repeated allegations from India regarding unprovoked firing across the Line of Control (LoC), Bhutto replied, “What is it for Pakistan to gain? I know without hesitation that Pakistan would just be responding to the firings from the Indian side.”
He also emphasised Pakistan’s efforts toward reform and diplomacy. “Pakistan has already offered an impartial investigation,” he said. He further added that the country has undergone “a lot of internal reforms.”
According to Bhutto, “Pakistan has learnt its lessons and has moved on from the old chapters of its history.”
The Indus Waters Treaty, signed in 1960 and brokered by the World Bank, governs water sharing between India and Pakistan. It has survived multiple wars and diplomatic tensions. However, India's decision to suspend it after the Pahalgam attack has marked a rare and serious escalation.
Bhutto’s grandfather, former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, and his mother, former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, had both warned of “1,000 years of war” with India.
In contrast, during his BBC interview, Bhutto attempted to frame his earlier outburst as a spontaneous political response. “When there is war, blood does flow,” he said, referencing historical conflicts rather than making a direct threat.
India has not officially responded to Bhutto’s interview.
However, Indian officials have reiterated their stance that Pakistan must take concrete and visible steps against terrorism for any progress in bilateral relations.