Pakistan minister warns of combat over water dispute

Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has stated that Islamabad would consider military action against India if it perceives a serious threat to its water security, escalating long-standing tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbors. The warning, delivered during a television interview on ARY News, links the issue directly to Pakistan's national security and comes amid a worsening domestic water crisis and a prolonged diplomatic standoff over the Indus Waters Treaty.

During the interview, which aired on Saturday, Asif said that Pakistan would not hesitate to respond forcefully if it felt its water interests were endangered. He specifically referenced monitoring Indian actions on shared rivers, alleging that India was manipulating flows in the Chenab River and withholding hydrological data. These remarks follow a recent report that India's Jal Shakti Minister, C. R. Patil, indicated that flows of Indus waters to Pakistan could be completely stopped by June 2028, a claim that has further fueled anxieties in Islamabad.

The current crisis has its roots in India's decision to suspend the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty following a terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, in...