“Not Scared By Threats From Jackals”: Jal Shakti Minister Patil Slams Bilawal Bhutto As India Sticks To Indus Treaty Suspension

Union Jal Shakti Minister C R Patil on Thursday (26 June) said the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) has been kept in abeyance in the national interest and will not be reversed in response to any communication from Pakistan.

Patil also slammed Pakistan People's Party chairman Bilwalal Bhutto for threatening India over the treaty.

At a press briefing, Patil said the decision was taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and “will benefit the country.”

Asked whether India had responded to Pakistan’s letters on the Indus treaty issue, he said, “Writing letters is a natural process. To write letters, replying etc…these things keep happening. But because letters were written…there is no forward movement... there is no change", Hindustan Times reported.

When questioned about whether water had been stopped, Patil responded, “In one line, I can say, water isn’t going anywhere.”

The minister further added, “We have kept the treaty in abeyance and there’s nothing that can be done.”

Responding to recent remarks by Pakistan’s former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto, who warned of war if India stopped Pakistan’s share of water, Patil said, “Whatever Bilawal (Bhutto) has to say, that is his question, he has to do his politics. He had also issued threats that if water stops, then blood will flow. We are not scared by threats from jackals."

India suspended the treaty a day after the Pahalgam terror attack on 22 April, in which 26 people were killed.

This was followed by Operation Sindoor, a military operation targeting terror bases in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

As per a report by Hindustan Times, India is now accelerating hydropower projects and is no longer obligated to share hydrological data with Pakistan.

Clearance is being fast-tracked for the Rs 22,700-crore Sawalkote hydropower project on the Chenab.

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