2 weeks ago
Shehbaz Sharif Threatens Direct Response Over Indus Treaty Suspension
India and Pakistan are neighbors that share big rivers.
Long ago, they made a promise called the Indus Waters Treaty about how to share the water.
This year, a very sad attack happened in India, and 26 people died.
India said Pakistan was helping the attackers, so it paused the water promise.
Pakistan's leader, Shehbaz Sharif, got very upset and said Pakistan will answer back over every drop of water.
At the same time, life in Pakistan is not calm: some people in Balochistan are angry over attacks they say hurt civilians, and they don't want to celebrate Independence Day.
There was also a bomb attack in Swat that killed police officers and other people.
Another former leader, Imran Khan, has been in jail for years, and his family says they haven't been allowed to visit him.
Different sides tell different stories, and leaders argue instead of solving the problems.
Shehbaz Sharif called India an "enemy of peace" for suspending the Indus Waters Treaty and threatened a "direct response" if India does not change course.
India kept the treaty in abeyance after the April 22, 2025 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people, saying it will remain suspended until Pakistan 'credibly and irrevocably' ends support for cross-border terrorism.
Baloch activists called for Pakistan's Independence Day to be observed as a "Black Day" and reported more than 20 civilians killed, with 27 killed or injured, in alleged airstrikes in the Surab/Sorab region.
A suicide bombing near the Kabal Police Station in Swat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, killed 17 people including seven policemen and injured 27 others.
India's MEA said more than 90 people have been killed in recent months in PoJK unrest, while Imran Khan's sons said family, doctors and lawyers have not been allowed to see him for seven months.
- Who
- Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, India's government, Baloch activists such as Mir Yar Baloch and Mahrang Baloch, and former PM Imran Khan's family.
- What
- Sharif threatened a direct response over India's suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty while Pakistan faces militant attacks, unrest in Balochistan and PoJK, and political crisis.
- Where
- Pakistan and India, including Balochistan's Surab/Sorab region, Swat in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Rawalakot in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, and New Delhi.
- When
- On the eve of Pakistan's Independence Day (August 14); India suspended the treaty following the April 22, 2025 Pahalgam attack and an April 23, 2025 Cabinet Committee on Security meeting.
- Why
- India suspended the treaty after the Pahalgam terror attack, saying conditions have changed and Pakistan must end support for cross-border terrorism; Sharif called the suspension illegal and said every drop of Pakistan's water is a red line.
India
Pakistan
Indus Waters Treaty suspension
India
India says the conditions under which the treaty was negotiated have fundamentally changed; it cannot function in its present form and will remain in abeyance until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably ends support for cross-border terrorism.
Pakistan
Pakistan says India unilaterally and illegally suspended the treaty, has proven itself an enemy of peace, and warns that every drop of Pakistan's water is a red line, threatening a direct response.
Balochistan airstrikes
India
Baloch activists say Pakistani warplanes bombed populated areas in Surab/Sorab, killing civilians including children in violation of international humanitarian law, and urge the international community to respond.
Pakistan
Pakistani authorities have not confirmed the deaths; activists say officials treat the strikes as routine military operations while celebrating Independence Day "under the shadow of guns."
Imran Khan's imprisonment
India
Imran Khan and his supporters allege the cases against him are politically motivated and designed to prevent his political comeback; his sons say he has had no access to family, doctors or lawyers for seven months.
Pakistan
Authorities keep Khan imprisoned following convictions in multiple cases since 2023, which his supporters contest as political repression.
Key facts
- Sharif's warning
- "Every drop of Pakistan's water is our red line"; threatened a "direct response" if India does not come to the right path
- India's action
- Kept Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance after CCS meeting on April 23, 2025
- Trigger
- Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, 2025, which killed 26 people
- India's condition
- Treaty to remain suspended until Pakistan "credibly and irrevocably" ends support for cross-border terrorism
- Balochistan incidents
- Activists reported more than 20 civilians killed, and 27 killed or injured, in alleged airstrikes in Surab/Sorab
- Swat suicide bombing
- Blast near Kabal Police Station killed 17 people including 7 policemen; 27 injured
- PoJK unrest
- India's MEA said more than 90 people killed in recent months; JAAC reported 2 injured in Rawalakot firing
- Imran Khan
- Imprisoned since 2023; family, doctors and lawyers reportedly not allowed to see him for seven months
Quotes
Human Rights Defender and Baloch Activist Zara Baloch
Baloch activist and human rights defender
“"Bombing civilian populations and taking the lives of innocent children is a blatant violation of international humanitarian laws."”
deccanchronicle.com
“"If India does not come to the right path, we will give it a direct response."”
deccanchronicle.com
Sources
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