'Blood and water will not flow together': Jaishankar slams Nehru for Indus Water Treaty, says it'll remain in abeyance till Pakistan stops terrorism

'Blood and water will not flow together': Jaishankar slams Nehru for Indus Water Treaty, says it'll remain in abeyance till Pakistan stops terrorism

File Photo: External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar speaks on Operation Sindoor in Lok Sabha during the Monsoon Session of Parliament. Photograph: (ANI)

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Commencing Day 2 of the Operation Sindoor debate in Rajya Sabha, EAM S. Jaishankar vowed that the treaty would "remain in abeyance" until "Pakistan irrevocably gives up its support of terrorism." Jaishankar insisted that in modern India, “Blood and water will not flow together.”

Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Wednesday (Jul 30) slammed former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru for signing the Indus Water Treaty with Pakistan in 1960, calling the agreement a method of "appeasement" and not "peace". Commencing Day 2 of the Operation Sindoor debate in Rajya Sabha, he vowed that the treaty would "remain in abeyance" until "Pakistan irrevocably gives up its support of terrorism." Jaishankar insisted that in modern India, “Blood and water will not flow together.” Echoing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's words from the previous day, he told the opposition that the PM and US President Donald Trump did not talk over a call between April 22 and June 16.

Looking back to May, the EAM said that when Indian armed forces commenced Operation Sindoor, “a number of countries were in touch with us to see how serious the situation was and how long it would go.” He revealed that, at the time New Delhi refuted offers of mediation, "We gave the same message to all the countries… that we were not open to any mediation. Anything between us and Pakistan will only be bilateral… And that we were responding to the Pakistani attack, and we would keep responding. If that fighting was to stop, Pakistan must make a request. And that request could only come through the channel of the DGMO."

What did Jaishankar say on the Indus Water Treaty

Speaking in Parliament during Day 2 of the Operation Sindoor debate, EAM Jaishankar condoled the death of civilians in the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22. Slamming the Congress party and the then PM Nehru, he alleged that the "Indus water treaty with Pakistan, signed by then Prime Minister, was not to buy peace, but for appeasement". Jaishankar added that thanks to the efforts of the Modi government, now, "Terrorism is now on the global agenda". He stressed that the Indus Water Treaty "will be held in abeyance until Pakistan irrevocably gives up its support of terrorism". He added that "Blood and water will not flow together".

About the Author

Moohita Kaur Garg is a senior sub-editor at WION with over four years of experience covering the volatile intersections of geopolitics and global security. From reporting on global...Read More