‘Articulated How Pakistanis Felt’: Bilawal Bhutto On ‘Blood Will Flow’ Remark

Last Updated:April 30, 2025, 22:50 IST

PPP chief Bilawal Bhutto told UK broadcaster BBC in an interview that he was articulating how Pakistanis felt after India threatened to hold the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari did not take responsibility for the inflammatory remarks he made that heightened the tensions and chose to pass the blame to Pakistani citizens. (IMAGE: REUTERS FILE)

Former Pakistan Minister and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chief Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari defended his controversial “blood will flow" remark and said that he was conveying how Pakistanis were feeling after India threatened to hold the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) in abeyance.

On April 22, terrorists opened fire in Kashmir’s Pahalgam killing 26 people, in the deadliest attack in the Valley since the Pulwama strike in 2019.

The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy of the banned Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), claimed responsibility for the attack.

India last Wednesday threatened to hold the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) in abeyance and downgraded diplomatic ties with Islamabad. In response to India’s decision to suspend the IWT, Pakistan on Thursday threatened to suspend the Shimla Agreement and put other bilateral accords with India on hold.

Pakistan also suspended all trade, closed its airspace for Indian airlines and said any attempt to divert the water meant for it under the IWT will be considered an Act of War.

The Pakistani government accused India of weaponising waters of the Indus River System which they said was a lifeline for Pakistan’s 240 million people. Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said that either water will flow in the Indus River or blood.

Speaking to BBC, Bhutto said: “After India violated the treaty, it came not as a personal natural reaction from my side, but an articulation of the feelings of the people of Pakistan". He was asked if his comment would further heighten the tensions between Islamabad and New Delhi.

Islamabad, Pakistan

News world ‘Articulated How Pakistanis Felt’: Bilawal Bhutto On ‘Blood Will Flow’ Remark