Tensions between India and Pakistan over the suspended Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) escalated after Pakistan’s Climate Change Minister Musadik Malik issued a provocative warning, threatening to “cut off those hands” that sought to claim Islamabad’s share of water. Addressing a press conference, Malik claimed that Pakistan had “already declared that anyone trying to deprive it of its water would face severe consequences”.
“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, according to Dawn.
Noting that 40-50 per cent of Pakistan’s population relied on agriculture for their livelihood, he said, “Someone else [is trying to] control the entirety of the country’s food security, 50 per cent of employment in the country and 25 per cent of the economy.”
“But there is also the question of justice. We will protect ourselves…Not that we’ve just announced it, but we’ve proved that if anyone lays a hand over our share of water, we’ll cut off that hand,” he said, according to the report.
Pakistan Minister’s provocation
Malik argued that international norms require upstream countries to allow the flow of water to downstream nations even in the absence of a formal treaty. Stressing that the Indus Waters Treaty remains legally valid, he questioned how Pakistan‘s share of water could be stopped and said Islamabad would present its case before the international community.
“Does every upper riparian now have the right to stop the flow of water to the lower riparian?… But we even have a treaty. […] How can the water be stopped here then? This is the case that we will present tomorrow,” he added.
پاکستان پہلے ہی واضح کر چکا ہے کہ اگر کسی نے ہمارے پانی پر ہاتھ ڈالنے کی کوشش کی تو اسے بھرپور جواب دیا جائے گا ہم دوٹوک اعلان کر چکے ہیں کہ جو ہمارے پانی پر ہاتھ ڈالے گا ہم وہ ہاتھ کاٹ دیں گے ہم نے پہلے ہوا میں پکڑ کر ٹھوکا ہے اب نیچے سے بھی ٹھوکیں گے ۔ مصدق ملک pic.twitter.com/l4q4XfmpsN
— Kippsam Malik (@KeepsamM) June 29, 2026
“The treaty exists. It will be decided what justice is internationally. […] It will be decided whether the children in lower riparian areas across the world have a right to water.”
India placed the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance following the deadly terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam in 2025 that killed 26 civilians. New Delhi has maintained that the treaty will remain suspended until Pakistan takes action against the cross-border terrorism infrastructure operating from its territory.