PM Shehbaz Warns India of Direct Response if It Fails to Respect Pakistan’s Red Lines

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday warned that Pakistan would give a direct response if India failed to respect its concerns, particularly regarding the country’s water resources, while emphasizing that Pakistan seeks peace but would not allow its desire for peace to be mistaken for weakness.

Addressing the inauguration ceremony of the Yadgar-e-Fatah monument in Islamabad, the prime minister declared that every drop of Pakistan’s water was a red line and said any violation would be met with an appropriate response.

Prime Minister Shehbaz said Pakistan had emerged as a symbol of stability in the region and paid tribute to the nation, Field Marshal and the armed forces for what he described as their success in Marka-e-Haq.

He said the Yadgar-e-Fatah represented the strength and superiority of the Pakistan Armed Forces and praised its distinctive design and construction, which was completed within eight months.

The prime minister reiterated Pakistan’s desire for global peace and said the country wanted the world to remain protected from new conflicts. He highlighted Pakistan’s role in facilitating dialogue between the United States and Iran and welcomed the participation of Türkiye in the Makkah Defence Agreement, describing it as a symbol of peace in the Middle East.

He also reaffirmed Pakistan’s support for the rights of the Palestinian people and reiterated the country’s principled position on the Kashmir dispute.

Referring to Afghanistan, the prime minister urged its government to prevent its territory from being used for terrorism. He stressed that national unity was the country’s greatest strength and called for differences within Pakistan to be prevented from turning into hostility.

Prime Minister Shehbaz also thanked US President Donald Trump for facilitating a ceasefire between Pakistan and India, saying the agreement had helped save millions of lives. He expressed hope that relations between Pakistan and the United States would continue to strengthen.

The prime minister’s remarks came during Pakistan’s 79th Independence Day celebrations, as the country marked the occasion with ceremonies across the nation.