NEW DELHI: Union minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday strongly rebuked Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari following his remarks over India’s decision to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty.
Hitting back sharply, Goyal said, “Pakistan is a despondent country and they don’t have any priority apart from spreading terror. It is unfortunate for the world that there is a presence of such politicians in it. I condemn this and I am sure Pakistani nationals also don’t agree with such statements.”
Goyal’s comments come after Bhutto, addressing a public gathering in Sukkur, had threatened India saying that “either water will flow from this Indus or your blood”.
Bhutto, in his speech, threatened, “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.”
The tensions between ecalated New Delhi and Islamabad after the deadly terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, where 26 people, mostly tourists, lost their lives.
In response, India initiated diplomatic measures, including closing the Integrated Check Post at Attari, suspending the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme for Pakistani nationals, and formally notifying Islamabad of the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty.
BJP MP Tarun Chugh also slammed Bhutto’s remarks, stressing that treaties can only exist where there is trust between parties. “PM Narendra Modi’s government has made it clear that the country that sends terrorists will not be spared. Not even a single drop of Indian water will be given to anyone for no reason… Treaties matter only where there’s trust… It is crucial to teach a lesson to terrorists and their masters. And India will teach them a lesson,” Chugh said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has assured that those responsible for the Pahalgam attack will face punishment “beyond their imagination,” underlining that the willpower of 140 crore Indians will break the backbone of terrorism.