“Will Cut Off Those Hands,” Pakistan Minister Warns India Over Indus Water Treaty

Pakistan has issued a fresh threat to India over the control of the shared Indus river system. Climate Change Minister Musadik Malik warned that Islamabad will "cut off those hands" that attempt to control the water, Pakistan based news organisation Dawn reported.

Malik accused New Delhi of weaponising the river network to starve Pakistan. "There is a tap being controlled by the prime minister of a neighbouring country. He says he will not let even a drop of water flow into Pakistan," Malik said.

The warning comes a week after Pakistan threatened war over the decades-old Indus Waters Treaty (IWT).

Escalating Rhetoric and Response

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif recently warned of military retaliation if India acts at an "alarming speed" to restrict the water supply.

"The moment we feel that our national security, and water is part of our national security, is being threatened, we will go to war against India. Definitely," Asif had said.

New Delhi quickly dismissed the escalating rhetoric. Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal rejected the statements as "desperate attempts" to mask domestic failures and deflect global attention from human rights violations within Pakistan.

"Regarding the comments made by the Pakistani Defence Minister, we have seen reports on the matter. Such remarks are desperate attempts by Pakistan to cover up its own failings and divert attention away from its human rights abuses. We categorically reject these fabricated claims with the contempt they deserve," Jaiswal said during a weekly press briefing.

The Indian government clarified that the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty will remain suspended. New Delhi has stated the pact will not resume until Islamabad completely dismantles its cross-border terror infrastructure.

Pahalgam Attack and Suspension

India placed the water-sharing agreement in abeyance in April 2025 through a unilateral official communication. The diplomatic suspension directly followed the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, 2025, which killed 26 people.

In its December 2025 chargesheet, India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) identified the direct perpetrators of the attack as three Pakistani Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists. The chargesheet revealed a foreign funding network that routed approximately Rs 9 lakh to the operatives through a Malaysia-based conduit.

The World Bank, which brokered the original pact, has declined to step into the bilateral dispute. World Bank President Ajay Banga said in April 2026 that the institution will not intervene, confirming its mandate remains strictly limited to that of a "facilitator".

Under the 1960 framework, Pakistan has the right to utilise 80 per cent of the Indus Waters Treaty basin for agriculture. However, chronic domestic resource mismanagement has severely weakened its farming sector and left croplands highly vulnerable.