Just communicating people's feelings: Bilawal Bhutto on 'blood will flow' remark

Former Pakistan Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has defended his controversial "blood will flow" remark over India’s suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, and has said that he was only communicating what the people of Pakistan felt.

In an interview with the BBC, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chief was asked about his remark and whether he thought it might further escalate tensions between India and Pakistan. In response, Bhutto said, "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."

"As I am sure you are aware, when there's war, blood does flow," Bhutto told the journalist, as he noted that the Pakistan government has always maintained that any move leading to withdrawal of the Indus Waters Treaty would be considered an act of war.

Bhutto further said that since Pakistan does not have any rivers to shut off on India, suspending the Indus treaty would be an act of war if "India was to weaponise the Indus water against the people of Pakistan".

Bilawal's anti-India remarks came after the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty unilaterally in diplomatic retaliation to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, which killed 26 people. "The Indus is ours and will remain ours. Either our water will flow through it, or their blood will," Bhutto had said, sparking a huge uproar in India.

The treaty, signed in September 1960 after years of negotiations, governs how the waters of six rivers of the Indus basin are utilised and distributed between India and Pakistan. A suspension of the treaty will have astronomical implications for Pakistan in the future as it provides water for 80% of its agricultural land.

When asked about reports of continuous ceasefire violations by Pakistan along the Line of Control (LoC) and the international border with India, Bilawal said, "What are we to gain from an attack like that in disputed Kashmir or firing along LoC? I know without hesitation that Pakistan will just be responding to the firing by the Indian side."

ROW OVER HIS REMARK

After Bilawal Bhutto made the "blood will flow" remarks, he drew flak from the government as well as opposition party leaders in India.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that Bhutto's words "dishonoured" the sacrifice of his family, vowing a "decisive revenge" on Pakistan for the Pahalgam attack.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor called Bhutto's remarks "inflammatory rhetoric", saying "If blood is going to flow, it will flow possibly more on their side than ours".

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi launched a scathing attack on Bilawal Bhutto, asking him to refrain from making "childish" remarks, reminding him that "His mother was killed by their homegrown terrorists. Does he even know what he is saying?"