Pakistan Minister Threatens India with Nuclear Weapons Over Indus Treaty Row

Pakistan minister Hanif Abbasi has escalated tensions by openly threatening India with a nuclear attack. He warned that Islamabad’s stockpile – Ghori, Shaheen and Ghaznavi missiles as well as 130 nuclear weapons – has been kept “only for India”.

Abbasi further warned that if India stops water supply to Pakistan by suspending the Indus Water Treaty, which has already been suspended, it should be ready for war, as Islamabad is ready to attack if provoked.

“If they stop supplying water to us, they should be ready for war. The military equipment we have, the missiles, are not for display. Nobody knows where we have kept our nuclear weapons across the country. I say again, these ballistic missiles, they are all your target,” the Pakistani minister said.

The remarks came after India announced a slew of measures against Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack that claimed 26 lives. India decided to suspend the 1960 Indus Water Treaty and also announced the suspension of visas for Pakistani citizens.

In response to the move, Islamabad closed its airspace to Indian carriers and threatened to suspend the 1972 Shimla Agreement, which legalises the LoC.

Reacting to Pakistan's decision to close its airspace to India, Abbasi said New Delhi has started to realise the harsh consequences of its actions. Mocking India's decision to suspend the Indus Treaty, Abbasi said, "If things continue like this for the next 10 days, airlines in India will go bankrupt." The minister also claimed that Pakistan has already started preparing for the consequences of India's decision to reduce bilateral trade, indicating that Islamabad is ready to counter any economic move taken against it.

India took the bold decision to downgrade its diplomatic ties with Pakistan after The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy group of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), claimed responsibility for the Pahalgam attack.