islamabad
\nPrime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday condemned India\u2019s unilateral suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), calling it a \u201cblatant violation\u201d and an act of \u201cwater aggression\u201d that will receive a resolute response.
\nChairing a high-level meeting on water security, Sharif warned that any threat to Pakistan\u2019s water rights would be met under national security decisions made on April 24.
\nHe likened the water dispute to a battle for justice and vowed unity in the face of growing regional tensions.
\nThe high-level meeting was attended by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Field Marshal COAS General Syed Asim Munir, federal ministers, chief ministers of all four provinces, Prime Minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Chief Minister of Gilgit-Baltistan, and senior federal and provincial officials.
\n\u201cThis is a battle of justice, and like every battle we have fought with unity, we will defeat India\u2019s water aggression with resolve and wisdom,\u201d said the prime minister.
\nHe emphasised that living nations confront challenges head-on and make strategic, lasting decisions to protect their future generations.
\nAddressing a high-level meeting on water security at the Prime Minister\u2019s House, Shehbaz Sharif said India\u2019s alleged attempts to weaponise water are intensifying, and stressed that the 1960 treaty, being a binding international agreement, does not allow any signatory to exit unilaterally.
\nHe described India\u2019s stance as \u201cpolitically and legally hollow.\u201d
\nThe meeting was marked by a unified political front, with all four provincial chief ministers, the Prime Minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and the Chief Minister of Gilgit-Baltistan jointly rejecting what they termed as Indian threats.
\nThe prime minister welcomed this collective response, calling it \u201ca reflection of our collective national resolve to protect Pakistan\u2019s water security.\u201d
\nIn response to the situation, the prime minister directed the formation of a high-level committee under Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar.
\nThe body has been tasked with devising funding strategies for new dam projects and includes representation from all provinces, AJK, and relevant federal ministries. The committee has been instructed to present its findings within 72 hours.
\n\u201cWe will prioritise the construction of non-controversial reservoirs. Wherever there is unanimity, we must act without delay.
\nThese dams are not political \u2014 they are a national necessity,\u201d the Prime Minister said. He made it clear that any project with cross-provincial consensus will be fast-tracked and completed on a priority basis.
\nA technical briefing during the session detailed Pakistan\u2019s current water storage capacity and ongoing projects. The Diamer-Bhasha Dam is scheduled for completion in 2032, while the Mohmand Dam is expected to finish by 2027.
\nPakistan currently has 11 operational dams with a cumulative capacity of 15.318 million acre-feet. Under the Public Sector Development Programme, 32 dams are under construction, and 79 other projects are underway through annual development schemes.
\nHighlighting infrastructure challenges, Shehbaz Sharif drew attention to sediment accumulation in existing dams such as Tarbela and Mangla, which has severely reduced their efficiency. He urged the leadership to make bold choices, warning that future generations would judge them for inaction.
\n\u201cWe owe it to our 240 million people to act decisively. This is not about politics \u2014 it\u2019s about survival. The future generations must remember this leadership with respect for the choices we make today,\u201d he declared.
\nThe prime minister also praised the efforts of the finance and economic affairs ministries, as well as key officials, for securing loans from the World Bank and Asian Development Bank. He claimed that Indian lobbying efforts to derail Pakistan\u2019s funding plans at the ADB had failed.
\n\u201cIndia tried to sabotage our projects at the ADB for three days, but failed. Our diplomatic victory is a testament to Pakistan\u2019s principled stand and growing credibility,\u201d he noted.
\nAs the meeting concluded, Shehbaz Sharif reiterated confidence in the solidarity of Pakistan\u2019s political and military leadership. \u201cJust as our brave armed forces stood firm in the battlefield, we must now stand united in securing every drop of water for our people,\u201d he said.
\nAmong those present at the meeting were Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar; Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal General Syed Asim Munir; Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif; Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal; Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar; Information Minister Attaullah Tarar; Power Minister Owais Leghari; Water Resources Minister Muneeb Wattoo; and other senior federal officials.
\nChief Ministers Maryam Nawaz (Punjab), Murad Ali Shah (Sindh), Ali Amin Gandapur (Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa), and Sarfraz Bugti (Balochistan) also participated, along with AJK Prime Minister Anwarul Haq and GB Chief Minister Gulbar Khan.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
islamabad Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday condemned India\u2019s unilateral suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), calling it a \u201cblatant violation\u201d and an act of \u201cwater aggression\u201d that will receive a resolute response. Chairing a high-level meeting on water security, Sharif warned that any threat to Pakistan\u2019s water rights would be met under …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":82105,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[75],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-82101","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-top"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82101","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=82101"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82101\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":82134,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82101\/revisions\/82134"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/82105"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=82101"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=82101"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=82101"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}