‘We’ll Cut Off Those Hands’: Why Has Pakistan Threatened India Over Indus Waters Treaty?

There have been fresh threats from Pakistan regarding the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty by the Climate Change Minister of Pakistan Musadik Malik, who warned India that Islamabad would “cut off those hands” that try to take away Pakistan’s part of water. The recent comments were made in the context of growing tensions regarding the Indus Waters Treaty, following the suspension of the treaty by India after the Pahalgam terrorist attack on April 22, 2025, that resulted in the death of 25 tourists and one local citizen.

Reports say that while addressing a press conference, Malik accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of trying to control Pakistan’s share of river water, saying the dispute had become a question of justice as well as national rights.

پاکستان پہلے ہی واضح کر چکا ہے کہ اگر کسی نے ہمارے پانی پر ہاتھ ڈالنے کی کوشش کی تو اسے بھرپور جواب دیا جائے گا

ہم دوٹوک اعلان کر چکے ہیں کہ جو ہمارے پانی پر ہاتھ ڈالے گا ہم وہ ہاتھ کاٹ دیں گے

ہم نے پہلے ہوا میں پکڑ کر ٹھوکا ہے اب نیچے سے بھی ٹھوکیں گے ۔ مصدق ملک pic.twitter.com/l4q4XfmpsN

— Kippsam Malik (@KeepsamM) June 29, 2026

Why the Indus Waters Treaty dispute prompted Pakistan’s latest warning to India

Referring to India’s decision, Malik said, “There is a tap being controlled by the prime minister of a neighbouring country. He says he will not let even a drop of water flow into Pakistan.” He then warned, “We will cut off those hands who lay claim to our share of water.”

His remarks, widely shared online and reported by Pakistani broadcaster 24NewsHD and other media outlets, further raised the temperature in the ongoing Indus Waters Treaty dispute. Malik added, “Not that we’ve only announced it, we’ve proved that if anyone lays a hand over our share of water, we’ll chop off that hand.”

How Pakistan defended its position in the Indus Waters Treaty row

According to reports, reiterating Islamabad’s stand, Malik said Pakistan would not allow “anyone” to interfere with its share of water. “But the question is about justice. Our forces have stood like a wall, not once but twice, proving that not only water but if someone tries to stake claim over our air, we’ll not let that happen,” he said. His comments underline Pakistan’s continued opposition to India’s decision on the Indus Waters Treaty.

The disagreement centres on India’s suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, a decades-old agreement that governs the sharing of the Indus river system between the two countries.

What the Indus Waters Treaty is and why the dispute began

Brokered by the World Bank in 1960, the Indus Waters Treaty gives India control over the eastern rivers, Ravi, Beas and Sutlej, while laying down rules for sharing the wider Indus river system. The agreement survived multiple wars between the two neighbours.

The Indus Waters Treaty was suspended by India in the aftermath of Pahalgam terror attack in April 2025, which was among the worst attacks in Jammu & Kashmir in the past decades and caused death of 26 people. Pakistan has challenged the suspension, while India believes that the treaty is not relevant to today’s world.

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