Pakistani leaders seem to have worked out an arrangement among themselves to be abusive towards India by turns. One day it is Field Marshall Asim Munir’s turn to speak like a rabies-inflicted man in delirium. The next day, it is Bilawal Bhutto Zardari who rants on endlessly. On Tuesday, it was Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s turn to spew venom against India and issue dire but essentially empty threats.
The rants of these leaders have become so predictable and repetitive that the Union Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) headed by Dr S Jaishanker has decided that not all of them are worth being taken note of. It issued a terse statement after Maulavi Munir’s comments were brought to MEA notice. On Monday evening, the MEA statement sought to dismiss his comments by saying that Pakistan was an “irresponsible nuclear state’’. For good measure, the statement added that nuclear sabre-rattling was Pakistan’s “stock in trade’’.
Referring to Pakistan army chief Asim Munir’s anti-India remarks made in Tampa (US), the MEA termed Pakistan “an irresponsible state with nuclear weapons” adding that “nuclear sabre-rattling is Pakistan’s stock in trade”. For good measure, the statement clarified that the nuclear bluff of Pakistan has been called off. It, however, said that all steps necessary for ensuring the security of the nation were being taken.
As if on cue from his army chief, and real boss, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday said the “enemy” would not be allowed to snatch “even one drop” of water belonging to his country. “I want to tell the enemy today that if you threaten to hold our water, then keep this in mind that you cannot snatch even one drop of Pakistan,” Sharif spoke at a function in Islamabd.
By late Wednesday evening, Sharif’s threat had failed to elicit a response from any responsible leader in the government or any ministry. His statement, however, angered AIMIM MP from Telengana, Asaduddin Owaisi, who reminded Sharif that India possessed Brahmos missiles. He said that hollow threats like those issued by Sharif and others need to be dismissed with contempt. Pakistan was incapable of harming India in any way as the brief kinetic action in May this year proved amply, he added.
Interestingly, before Sharif, former Pakistan foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has made similar comments. He had termed the Indus Waters Treaty’s suspension an attack on the Indus Valley Civilisation and said Pakistan would not back down if India forced it into war. Adopting a rather dovish tone, Bilawal said that Pakistan wanted peace but India was talking war!
Bilawal’s statement had evoked a sharp reaction from actor-turned-BJP leader Mithun Chakraborty. He said that Bilawal’s verbal barrage can be answered with a far more deadly barrage of Brahmos missiles aimed at Pakistan. Chakraborty, however, added that he felt no animosity towards the ordinary people of Pakistan who did not want war.
What had triggered these statements from Pakistani leaders was a statement from Munir in Tampa. At a function in which many important personalities from Pakistani diaspora were present, Munir reportedly said that Islamabad would destroy any dam built on Indus by India if it cut off water flow to Pakistan.
“We will wait for India to build a dam, and when they do so, we will destroy it,” Asim Munir was quoted as saying by the Dawn newspaper. “The Indus River is not the Indians’ family property. We have no shortage of resources to undo the Indian designs to stop the river.”
It is interesting to note that Pakistan PM Sharif made intemperate remarks against India on August 12, a day after Pakistan’s Foreign Office had, on Monday, requested India to immediately resume the normal functioning of the IWT. “We urge India to immediately resume the normal functioning of the Indus Waters Treaty, and fulfil its treaty obligations, wholly and faithfully,” the Foreign Office said in a post on X.
Undeterred by the several statements from Pakistan, New Delhi is going ahead with its plans for building dams on the Chenab, a Western River, with a renewed vigour. A fortnight ago, it had announced the release of a global tender for a massive 1,856 MW hydroelectric project at Sawalakote. This project had got stalled several times in the past due to objections from Pakistan raised under the IWT.
Besides, India has also fast-tracked the 850 MW Ratle project which seemed to be facing problems from Pakistan earlier. Setting aside all objections from Pakistan, India has now redoubled efforts to carry out all construction works. It needs to be mentioned here that Neutral Expert Michel Lino had visited the project site at Drabshala (Kishtwar) in June 2024 as India had submitted itself to the IWT at that time.
