Where will we store the water? Owaisi on India suspending Indus treaty with Pak

Reacting to the government's decision to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960, Asaduddin Owaisi welcomed the bold move, but asked where the government would store the water. 

In Short

• Owaisi urges strong action against Pakistan post Pahalgam attack
• Welcomes suspension of Indus Waters Treaty; questions water storage
• Criticises security lapses and communal targeting in the attack

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi has called for strong and decisive action against Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack, and backed the government's move to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty.

Speaking to reporters after attending the all-party meeting convened by the Centre in New Delhi, Owaisi welcomed the decisions taken by the Cabinet Committee on Security and said the government should not hesitate to act against the country that shelters terrorist organisations.

Reacting to the government's decision to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960, Owaisi welcomed the bold move, but asked where the government would store the water.

"It is very good that the Indus Water Treaty has been suspended, but where will we keep the water? We will support whatever decision the central government takes. This is not a political issue," Owaisi said.

He added that international law gave India the right to respond strongly to the Pahalgam attack. "The central government can take action against the nation that shelters terrorist groups. The international law also permits us to do an air and naval blockade in self-defence against Pakistan and impose sanctions on arms sales to them," he said.

Owaisi also raised questions about the delay in the security response during the attack in Baisaran meadow. "Why was the CRPF not deployed at the Baisaran meadow? Why did the quick reaction team take one hour to reach there? They shot people by asking their religion," he said, reiterating that the killings were targeted and deeply communal.

As per sources, the government, during the all-party meeting, admitted to security lapses in the terror attack.

"If nothing had gone wrong, why would we be sitting here? There have been lapses somewhere that we have to find out," a leader from the ruling dispensation reportedly told the Opposition leaders during the meeting.

He also appealed to stop "false propaganda" against Kashmiris and students from the Valley, even as he strongly condemned the terrorists. "I condemn the way the terrorists killed people by asking about their religion," he said.

Earlier, reacting to the massacre, Owaisi had described the Pahalgam attack as more dangerous and painful than the terror strikes in Uri and Pulwama.

Speaking to reporters in Hyderabad, he had called the attack a major intelligence failure and said the government must reevaluate its deterrence strategy. "This is also an intelligence failure. We hope the government teaches these terrorists a lesson and ensures justice for the victims' families," he had said.

The all-party meeting was attended by top leaders including Union Ministers JP Nadda, Kiren Rijiju, and S. Jaishankar, as well as Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Lok Sabha Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi. The meeting ended with a consensus on standing united in the fight against terrorism.

The April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam left 26 people dead. The Resistance Front, an offshoot of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, claimed responsibility for the assault, which targeted tourists at the Baisaran meadows in the heart of peak tourist season.