Pakistan Warns India of War Escalation: What’s Behind the Tensions?

Pakistan’s defense minister, Khawaja Mohammad Asif, has warned that the country could declare war on India if New Delhi restricts access to drinking water for a significant portion of Pakistan’s population. He added that Islamabad is also prepared to respond militarily if India uses water resources as a tool of pressure.

This is reported by NDTV.

According to Khawaja Mohammad Asif, water resources are a component of Pakistan’s national security, so any actions that threaten the country’s water supply could be grounds for war.

“As soon as we face a threat to our national security, and water resources are part of it, we will start a war against India. Absolutely,” said Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif.

He also said Pakistan would consider military action if there was evidence that India was acting “with alarming speed” to disrupt the country’s water supply and intended to use water as a weapon.

Such statements were made after New Delhi’s decision in April last year to unilaterally suspend the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960. India made this decision in response to the terrorist attack in the town of Pahalgam, which killed 26 people.

Indian authorities blamed Pakistan for the attack, calling it a state sponsor of terrorism, and said the agreement would remain suspended until Islamabad dismantled its cross-border terrorist infrastructure.

Under the Indus Waters Treaty, Pakistan received nearly 80% of the waters of the Indus River basin. These resources provided drinking water and water for domestic use to about a third of the country’s population, primarily in the agricultural sector.

Recall that on February 27, Pakistan launched massive strikes on Afghanistan, in particular on Kabul and the provinces of Kandahar, Paktia, and Nangarhar. Military facilities and positions of the Taliban movement were attacked.

Later, it became known that tensions on the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan had increased again . The Pakistani military carried out airstrikes on the territory of the neighboring country, claiming to have killed dozens of militants. At the same time, the Afghan side reported civilian casualties.

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