'We will not give up Indus': PPP holds Sindh-wide rallies condemning India's threats to Pakistan's water

HYDERABAD/KARACHI: PPP on Sunday staged rallies across Sindh to condemn India’s unilateral attempt to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) and its plans to divert Pakistani waters in the Indus river system.

Water and the IWT remain a contentious issue between India and Pakistan, following New Delhi’s unilateral abeyance of the accord last year — a move that was followed by a brief military conflict between the two sides in May 2025.

PPP activists held demonstrations in several districts and cities, including Karachi, Hyderabad, Thar, Mirpurkhas, Larkana, Shikarpur, Naushahro Feroze and Dadu. They gathered under the slogan ‘marsoon marsoon, Sindhu na desoon’ (We will die, but we will not give up the Indus).

Leading a rally in Hyderabad, PPP Sindh chapter president Nisar Ahmed Khuhro said party chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari had raised the issue at global forums and would take it to a logical end.

The rally started from Shahbaz Building Chowk and culminated outside the local press club in the evening. PPP district president and MNA Tariq Shah Jamot, general secretary Waseem Rajput, Hyderabad divisional president Ajiz Dhamra and others also spoke.

Khuhro asserted that PPP had always stood for Pakistan because it has a federalist colour. He said Bilawal had challenged Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at an international forum, adding that Modi “would get an answer now”.

Khuhro, also an MPA, said that since the PPP had taken the decision to raise the issue of water in public, the party would mobilise people in every village.

He said Bilawal had decided to approach people on the issue of Pakistan’s share of the Indus waters. He said that PPP supporters would make Bilawal the prime minister so that he could protect the country’s interests.

The IWT, brokered by the World Bank in 1960, regulates the distribution of the Indus river system between India and Pakistan. It allocates the eastern rivers — Ravi, Beas and Sutlej — to India, while the western rivers — Indus, Jhelum and Chenab — are largely allocated to Pakistan.

Khuhro asserted that Pakistanis would never tolerate an attack on their country and its integrity. He remarked that Bilawal could even single-handedly deal with the issue because he “has the courage”.

Recalling that the PPP had opposed the construction of the controversial Kalabagh Dam during late military dictator Pervez Musharraf’s tenure, Khuhro said, “How could anyone build any controversial canal?”

The senior politician stressed that Bilawal was clear in his stance over provincial autonomy and the water issue. He criticised “parties like PTI” for saying that the federation had gone bankrupt due to provincial autonomy.

He wondered why parties such as the PTI and the MQM-P allegedly never questioned India when the latter was hitting at their country’s integrity.

Meanwhile, MPAs Ejaz Shah Bukhari and Khurram Karim Soomro led another rally on Hyderabad’s Phulelli road.

PPP activists attending the rally vowed to protect the Indus river as it was the only source of livelihood for millions in Sindh and described India’s actions as “water terrorism”.

The participants sounded the alarm on Sindh’s standing crops facing damage due to water shortage, while sea intrusion was devouring the agricultural land in the Indus delta.

Contending that the Water Accord of 1991 was not being implemented by the federal government, PPP leaders said the party would take up this issue with the Centre to seek Sindh’s share of water.

Water shortages in Sindh and Balochistan deepened last month as Punjab drew excess water, threatening the downstream provinces’ agricultural activities and drinking water supplies.

PPP district information secretary Dr Mir Hassan Mallah, district council vice chairman Ghulam Mustafa Jat and others were also present at the demonstration.

Saeed Ghani says war would be only option if water denied

In Karachi, Sindh Labour and Social Protection Minister Saeed Ghani addressed a rally organised by the PPP’s South district chapter, while Senator Waqar Mehdi spoke at the Keamari chapter’s gathering and MNA Sharmila Faruqui led the East chapter’s rally.

The rally led by Ghani marched from the Sindh Assembly building to the Karachi Press Club (KPC).

Ghani, also the PPP’s Karachi division president, said that the waters of River Indus were not just an issue for Sindh or Karachi alone, but a matter affecting the entire country, as the river provides drinking water and irrigation for Pakistan’s 250 million people.

Speaking to demonstrators outside the KPC, the PPP leader described the Indus river as the “lifeline of Pakistan” and said no law in the world permitted India to unilaterally suspend the IWT.

Referring to Bilawal’s recent public address in Sukkur, Ghani said the PPP chairman had warned that Pakistanis would not remain silent if water was prevented from flowing in the Indus.

“We are a peaceful people and do not want war because we believe war is not the solution to any problem,” Ghani said.

However, he warned that if Pakistan’s people were deprived of water and food, leaving them to face hunger, “there would be no option left except war”.

Earlier this week, the army’s top brass affirmed its “resolute commitment” to undertake “all measures necessary” to ensure the availability of Pakistan’s rightful share of water.

It took note of the “Indian rhetoric surrounding” the IWT and reaffirmed the guidance given in last year’s National Security Committee (NSC) directive, which said any attempt to stop or divert the flow of water under the treaty would be an “act of war”.

Stating that the campaign against India’s alleged water aggression was not the struggle of the Pakistani leadership alone, Ghani urged the public to raise their voice.

He further alleged that India was seeking to avenge its previous setbacks and warned that if New Delhi failed to act responsibly, Pakistan’s political leadership should consider declaring war.

The minister added that any aggression would be met with a response “that generations would remember”.

Ghani maintained that neither Pakistan nor India had the authority to disregard the treaty unilaterally. Any amendment to the agreement, he said, required the consent of both countries.

He pointed out that despite the wars of 1965 and 1971, neither side had withdrawn from the treaty, demonstrating its enduring legal status.

The rally was attended by PPP District South President Javed Nagori, General Secretary Taimur Sial, Abdul Majeed Mulla, Fareed Memon, Aslam Samoon, Khalil Houth and a large number of people.