‘Will Defeat India in Water War’: Pakistan’s Defence Minister Escalates Rhetoric Over Chenab River Row

By A Staff Reporter

In a sharp escalation of rhetoric between nuclear-armed neighbours, Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has declared that Islamabad will “defeat India in the water war,” amid rising tensions over the Chenab River’s declining flow and the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty by India.

Speaking in a televised address, Asif claimed that the reduced flow of water in the Chenab River suggests deliberate actions by New Delhi. “India was defeated in a conventional war, and now we will defeat it in the water war as well,” he stated, accusing India of restricting Pakistan’s rightful access to water.

The controversy unfolds in the wake of India’s Operation Sindoor, launched after the Pahalgam terror attack, which India blames on Pakistan-based groups. Since then, official communication between the two sides has been suspended.

On April 24, India formally informed Pakistan of its decision to place the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance. “The obligation to honour a treaty in good faith is fundamental. What we have seen instead is sustained cross-border terrorism,” stated India’s Water Resources Secretary Debashree Mukherjee.

Despite Pakistan’s repeated outreach—including four letters from its Water Resources Secretary Syed Ali Murtaza to India’s Jal Shakti Ministry (three of them post-Operation Sindoor)—New Delhi has stood firm, insisting that talks are off the table until Pakistan verifiably ends cross-border terrorism.

Asif also dismissed the existence of any back-channel talks with India, intensifying the uncertainty surrounding bilateral engagement. His combative stance comes as Pakistan faces mounting international pressure to curb terror financing and address its economic crisis, now compounded by severe water shortages.