'Either our water will flow or their blood': Pakistan leader Bilawal Bhutto threatens India over Indus Waters Treaty suspension

"Modi has accused Pakistan of the terror attack to hide his own faults and fool his countrymen. Modi has unilaterally suspended the Indus Waters Treaty through which India had conceded that Indus is Pakistan's. Modi has now decided to break the agreement," said Bilawal.

"I want to tell India that Indus is ours and will remain ours. Either our water will flow through it or their blood."

"Wherever Modi goes, he claims India is the heir of 1000-year-old Indus Valley Civilisation which lies in Pakistan's Larkana and Mohenjo Daro is the proof. We are the true heirs of it and we will defend it," he added.

'Pakistan will pay a heavy price'

In response to Bilawal's remarks, India's Union Minister Piyush Goyal said, "Pakistan is a hopeless country whose only priority is terrorism. It's unfortunate for any country to have such a political leader who only creates damage to their nation. I strongly condemn the remark. I fully believe that even people of Pakistan do not agree with such remarks."

Hardeep Puri, the spokesperson of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), said, "There should be no misconception that what has happened in Pahalgam is a terrorist attack. Pakistan will have to pay a very heavy price, and it's just the beginning... I think Pakistan is not just a rogue state, it is a country in terminal decline. It has been a foolish statement (by Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari)."

Pahalgam terror attack

Twenty-six tourists including 23 Hindus died after terrorists identified them as non-Muslims and gunned them down in Baisaran meadows, a popular destination in Pahalgam.

World leaders, including US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, condemned the attack.

The terrorists, who were apparently in camouflage, reportedly asked the victims to chant Islamic verse, pull down their pants to check circumcision in a bid to confirm their Hindu identities before gunning them down.

India's strong response to Pakistan

The Modi government has taken tit-for-tat diplomatic steps against Pakistan, suspending the decades-old Indus Waters Treaty, closing the Attari-Wagah border with an immediate effect, cancelling Pakistani visas under SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme, asking the Pakistani advisors to leave India within a week and reducing the overall strength of High Commissions to 30 from the existing 55 effective from May 1, 2025.

Promising a strong retaliation against Pakistan over one of the worst terror attacks that took place in the popular tourist spot in peak season of tourism, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said the terrorists and their backers will pay unimaginable costs for the attack on innocent tourists.

Addressing a rally in Bihar's Madhubani, Modi said: "From the soil of Bihar I tell the whole world that India will identify them and punish every terrorist and their backers. We will pursue them to the end of the earth. India's spirit will never be broken by terrorism. Terrorism will not go unpunished."

"Every effort will be made to ensure justice is done," he said, adding that the entire country is grieving the merciless killings.