{"id":21159,"date":"2026-09-26T04:30:39","date_gmt":"2026-09-26T04:30:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/pm-shehbaz-tells-unga-any-move-to-divert-pakistans-water-an-act-of-war\/"},"modified":"2026-09-26T04:31:45","modified_gmt":"2026-09-26T04:31:45","slug":"pm-shehbaz-tells-unga-any-move-to-divert-pakistans-water-an-act-of-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/pm-shehbaz-tells-unga-any-move-to-divert-pakistans-water-an-act-of-war\/","title":{"rendered":"PM Shehbaz tells UNGA any move to divert Pakistan\u2019s water an \u2018act of war\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

MAHPARA ZAMAN<\/strong><\/p>\n

NEW YORK: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday told the United Nations General Assembly that any attempt by India to stop, impede or divert Pakistan\u2019s share of waters would be treated as an \u201cact of war\u201d.<\/p>\n

Addressing the 81st session of the UN General Assembly in New York, the prime minister said water must never be weaponised and that rivers should \u201cnourish nations, not divide them\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cAny attempt to stop, impede or divert Pakistan\u2019s share of the waters will be treated as an act of war. India must make no mistake about it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Opening his address, PM Shehbaz said the pursuit of peace was among the noblest of human endeavours. He added that Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah\u2019s declaration of support for the UN Charter had shaped Pakistan\u2019s national ethos and guided its conduct at home and abroad.<\/p>\n

The prime minister also spoke about the conflict in the Gulf region and the wider Middle East, referring to the loss of lives, economic hardship and pressure on critical maritime routes, particularly the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt this critical moment, Pakistan chose to act swiftly. Through concerted efforts, Pakistan brought Washington and Tehran under one roof in Islamabad,\u201d he said, referring to the Islamabad Talks that led to the signing of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding by the United States and Iran in June.<\/p>\n

He appreciated Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of the Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir, saying his \u201crelentless efforts helped create space for diplomacy under exceptionally difficult and challenging circumstances\u201d. He also praised Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar for his role in the process.<\/p>\n

\u201cAmid the roar of missiles, drones and guns, the voice for diplomacy must echo even louder and stronger,\u201d PM Shehbaz said.<\/p>\n

He said the Strait of Hormuz and Bab al-Mandab were arteries of the global economy and must remain open, connecting nations rather than becoming choke points of confrontation.<\/p>\n

The prime minister condemned \u201cin the strongest possible terms\u201d the recent Houthi attacks against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, calling them \u201cdeplorable\u201d. He expressed Pakistan\u2019s complete solidarity with Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n

He also highlighted the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement signed by Pakistan, Turkiye and Saudi Arabia, describing it as a reflection of Pakistan\u2019s commitment to peace.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis alliance is not directed against any country; it is a collective commitment for defence, stability and peace in the region, and nothing more,\u201d he stressed.<\/p>\n

Referring to last year\u2019s conflict with India, which followed a terror attack in Pahalgam that New Delhi blamed on Islamabad, PM Shehbaz said Pakistan had denied the allegations.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur brave and valiant armed forces, under the courageous leadership of Field Marshal Asim Munir, responded with precision and professionalism,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He again praised US President Donald Trump\u2019s \u201cresolute and visionary leadership\u201d in brokering a ceasefire between the two countries in May 2025, saying it saved \u201chundreds of millions of lives\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho knows the extent of devastation that could have taken place had President Trump not stepped in at this critical moment with clarity of thought and action?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe must therefore ensure that South Asia never reaches this precipice ever again.\u201d<\/p>\n

The prime minister said this required a fair resolution of the Kashmir dispute. He said the Kashmiri people had waited for eight decades for the United Nations to fulfil its solemn commitment of a free and impartial plebiscite.<\/p>\n

He said Kashmiris had endured \u201cillegal occupation, arbitrary detention, extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, sexual violence and collective punishment\u201d for generations.<\/p>\n

PM Shehbaz said Pakistan would continue to extend its full diplomatic, political and moral support to Kashmiris until they were granted their right to self-determination. He termed Kashmir \u201cPakistan\u2019s jugular vein\u201d.<\/p>\n

The prime minister also criticised India\u2019s unilateral decision to hold the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance since last year\u2019s conflict, saying it had no legal basis.<\/p>\n

He said India\u2019s claims and actions regarding the treaty had been rejected by UN experts as well as by the Permanent Court of Arbitration, leaving Pakistan \u201cvindicated beyond any doubt\u201d in its position.<\/p>\n

Calling the Indus river system the \u201clifeblood\u201d of the entire region, he reiterated that water must not be weaponised.<\/p>\n

During his address, PM Shehbaz also reaffirmed Pakistan\u2019s support for Palestine and expressed concern over ongoing Israeli violence in Gaza and the West Bank, as well as continued aggression against Lebanon and Syria.<\/p>\n

He said the forcible eviction of Palestinians in the West Bank \u201cclearly reflects Israel\u2019s genocidal agenda\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cPakistan believes that the only just and lasting solution is the creation of an independent, sovereign, viable and contiguous State of Palestine, based on pre-1967 borders, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital,\u201d the prime minister said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif told the UN General Assembly that any Indian attempt to stop, impede or divert Pakistan\u2019s share of waters would be treated as an act of war.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":21158,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[94],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21159","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pakistan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21159","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21159"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21159\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21160,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21159\/revisions\/21160"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21158"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21159"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21159"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21159"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}