India on Thursday issued a sharp warning to Pakistan over a series of hostile statements from its leadership, cautioning that any “misadventure” would result in painful consequences. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) described the remarks as part of a “well-known modus operandi” by Islamabad to fuel anti-India sentiment and deflect attention from its internal challenges.
“We have seen reports regarding a continuing pattern of reckless, war-mongering and hateful comments from Pakistani leadership against India. Pakistan would be well-advised to temper its rhetoric as any misadventure will have painful consequences, as was demonstrated recently,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said during a press conference on Thursday.
The statement came in response to Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s warning on Tuesday that India would not be allowed to take “even one drop” of water belonging to Pakistan. His comments followed New Delhi’s April 23 decision to place the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) “in abeyance,” a day after the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people.
“If you threaten to hold our water, you cannot snatch even one drop of Pakistan,” Sharif said at a ceremony in Islamabad, adding that India would be “taught a lesson” if it attempted such a move. Pakistan has maintained that blocking the water flow would be considered an act of war.
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Former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari also weighed in, likening the IWT suspension to an attack on the Indus Valley Civilisation and warning that Pakistan would not back down if “forced into war.”
Actor-turned-BJP leader Mithun Chakraborty responded to the rhetoric by threatening Pakistan with “a series of BrahMos missiles” and remarking that a dam would be built in India where “140 crore Indians” would relieve themselves before unleashing it on Pakistan. He clarified that his comments were directed at Pakistan’s establishment, not its citizens.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Army chief Gen Asim Munir, addressing the diaspora in Tampa, Florida, said Islamabad would “destroy any dam” India builds to block water flow, asserting that “the Indus River is not the Indians’ family property.”
The MEA reacted strongly to Munir’s statements, accusing Pakistan of “nuclear sabre-rattling” and linking its military to terrorist groups. It also criticised the choice of venue for the remarks, noting with regret that they were delivered “from the soil of a friendly third country.”
These exchanges come in the aftermath of Operation Sindoor, launched by India on May 7 against terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir following the April 22 Pahalgam attack. The operation saw four days of drone and missile exchanges before both sides agreed to end hostilities on May 10.
