'Water won't go anywhere': Union minister CR Patil reiterates Centre's stand on Indus Waters Treaty; hits back at Pakistan's Bilawal Bhutto

NEW DELHI: Union Jal Shakti minister CR Patil on Thursday reaffirmed India's tough stance on the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), asserting that the move is in the nation's interest and dismissing Pakistani warnings as empty threats.

"This decision belongs to the Indian government and the Prime Minister... There is no update on the abeyance of the treaty. Whatever decision will be taken will only benefit the nation," Patil said when asked about the current status of the treaty in presser.

Responding to former Pakistan foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari 's recent remarks, Patil was blunt: "The water won't go anywhere... What he says is his own question... We are not afraid of false threats."

ANI quoted him saying, " Bilawal Bhutto said many things, but we are not afraid of his comments, 'Hum gidar bhabkiyon se nahi darte'."

Patil's comments come days after Bilawal Bhutto's sharp statements directed towards India.

India responded to the terror attack by suspending its obligations under the Indus Waters Treaty, a decades-old water-sharing agreement that governs the use of six rivers in the Indus basin.

The decision is part of a broader set of punitive measures taken by India against Pakistan, considering Islamabad's role in harbouring terrorism on its land.