“Either water or their blood in Indus”: Bilawal's empty threats to India

New Delhi: Former Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s provocative statement, claiming the Indus River as Pakistan’s and warning that “either our water will flow from this river or their blood will flow,” has added more fire to the already high tensions between India and Pakistan in the backdrop of Pahalgam terror attack.

The rhetoric, delivered in Sukkur alongside the Indus River, comes in the wake of India’s suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) on April 23, 2025, following a deadly ‘Islamic terrorist attack’ in Pahalgam that claimed 26 lives, mostly Hindu tourists.

Listen to the empty threats of the grandson of former Pakistan president Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, who lost 1971 war with India:

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The Indus Waters Treaty, a landmark agreement brokered by the World Bank in 1960, has long been a cornerstone of water-sharing between the two nuclear-armed neighbors, surviving three wars and decades of hostility. The treaty allocates the eastern rivers – Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej – to India, while Pakistan receives the lion’s share of the western rivers – Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab – accounting for 80% of the Indus Basin’s flow. 

However, India’s decision to suspend the treaty, citing Pakistan’s alleged support for cross-border terrorism, has sent shockwaves through the region. Pakistan, heavily reliant on the Indus Basin for over 80% of its agriculture and a third of its hydropower, now faces an existential crisis as India, the upstream nation, holds significant leverage over water flows.

Bhutto accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of making “false allegations” to “conceal his own weaknesses” following the Pahalgam attack. 

Bhutto’s claim that “the Indus is ours, and will remain ours” follows Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar calling Indian suspension of IWT “an act of war.”