Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has issued a stark warning about what he calls India’s use of water as a weapon, while pressing the federal government to accelerate construction of the massive Diamer-Bhasha Dam project.
Speaking at an election rally in Diamer on Wednesday, Bilawal framed the dam as far more than a regional development initiative. He characterized it as an urgent national security imperative in the face of what he described as deliberate Indian violations of the Indus Waters Treaty.
“The Modi government is using water as a tool of terrorism,” Bilawal declared, referring to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration. He called on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to demonstrate his trademark “Shehbaz speed” in pushing the project toward completion.
The Diamer-Bhasha Dam represents one of Pakistan’s most ambitious infrastructure undertakings. With a planned capacity of 4,500 megawatts and an estimated price tag of $15 billion, the project is set to become one of the world’s largest dams once finished. Beyond electricity generation, the dam is expected to irrigate 1.2 million acres of farmland and extend the operational lifespan of the existing Tarbela Dam by 35 years.
Bilawal’s remarks come just days before Gilgit-Baltistan heads to the polls on June 7. The PPP chairman urged voters to elect a PPP chief minister, claiming his party received the most votes in the previous regional elections but was unfairly denied nine seats.
The speech also touched on the PPP’s political legacy. Bilawal invoked the memory of his grandfather Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and his mother Benazir Bhutto, emphasizing their commitment to marginalized communities. He credited his father, President Asif Ali Zardari, with launching the Benazir Income Support Programme and maintaining focus on Gilgit-Baltistan’s development needs.
Bilawal advocated for extending the benefits of Pakistan’s 18th Amendment to Gilgit-Baltistan, arguing that a stronger region would boost the country’s overall economic trajectory. He pointed to the PPP’s healthcare expansion in Sindh as a model, promising to replicate free medical services, surgeries, and transplants in Gilgit-Baltistan if his party gains power.
In a pointed jab at jailed PTI founder Imran Khan, Bilawal claimed credit for closing foreign military installations in Pakistan, dismissing Khan’s famous “absolutely not” statement as hollow since the bases had already been shut down under PPP leadership.
The rally underscored how water security has become a flashpoint in Pakistan’s political discourse, with Bilawal positioning the Diamer-Bhasha Dam as both an economic lifeline and a strategic countermeasure to perceived Indian aggression on shared water resources.
