Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday said water was the “lifeblood” of the region and must never be weaponised, as he addressed a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Kyrgyzstan.
Speaking at the SCO Council of Heads of States (CHS) meeting in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek, the premier said the region cannot “realise its full potential without lasting peace”.
Without naming India directly, he highlighted the issue of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) and demanded that it be honoured.
“Water is the lifeblood of our region. It sustains millions of lives, nourishes our land and secures the very future of our coming generations,” he noted.
He stressed that it “must never be weaponised; it cannot be used as an instrument of coercion, nor can it ever be exploited for political leverage”.
