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Days after threatening that blood would be spilled if India halted the flow of water from the Indus River, former Pakistan Foreign Minister and Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has now called for peace with India. This comes as New Delhi tightens measures against Islamabad in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.
During his address to Pakistan's Assembly on Tuesday, Bhutto claimed that his country is a "victim of terrorism and does not export it". Bhutto said that Pakistan is committed to fighting for freedom, not conflict, as per a report by Pakistani newspaper Dawn.
"If India wishes to walk the path of peace, let them come with open hands and not clenched fists. Let them come with facts and not fabrication. Let us sit as neighbours and speak the truth," Bilawal Bhutto, son of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, told the assembly.
He added, "If they do not ... then let them remember that the people of Pakistan are not made to kneel. The people of Pakistan have a resolve to fight, not because we love conflict, but because we love freedom".
After Pakistan-backed terrorists killed 26 civilians in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam on April 22, India suspended the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty. Enraged by the move, Bhutto declared that Pakistan was the true custodian of the Indus river and warned India that 'either our water or their blood will flow through it'.
"The Indus is ours and will remain ours. Either our water will flow through it, or their blood will," Bhutto said at a public rally.
However, he later appeared to soften his tone, claiming he was merely expressing the sentiments of the people. "After India violated the treaty, it came not as a personal natural reaction from my side, but an articulation of the feelings of the people of Pakistan," the told BBC.
India has also suspended Bhutto's social media profile on X, along with several key figures in Pakistan.
Accusing Pakistan of fostering cross-border terrorism, India has implemented a series of punitive measures beyond suspending the Indus Waters Treaty. These include sealing the land border, closing its airspace to Pakistani aircraft, cancelling visas for Pakistani nationals, downsizing diplomatic missions, and suspending trade and business ties, among several other actions.
Speculation about an imminent military strike against Pakistan is also mounting, especially after Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently granted the armed forces full operational freedom to respond to the Pahalgam attack.
Published On:
May 6, 2025
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