‘Blood in river’ rant: Owaisi reminds Bilawal of Benazir Bhutto’s killing by homegrown terrorists

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) Chief Asaduddin Owaisi. File | Photo Credit: ANI

meen (AIMIM) Chief Asaduddin Owaisi. File | Photo Credit: ANI

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Monday criticised Pakistani politician Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari for his “blood would flow in rivers” remark, reminding him of the killing of his mother, Benazir Bhutto, by home-grown terrorists

Mr. Owaisi also referred to former Pakistani cricketer Shahid Afridi as a “joker” for his statement on the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, which claimed the lives of 26 tourists.

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The Hyderabad MP said Pakistan should be placed on the ‘grey list’ of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and advocated for cyber attacks against the neighbouring nation.

When asked about Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari’s statement against India following its withdrawal from the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), Owaisi remarked that Bhutto-Zardari should question who was responsible for his mother’s death, emphasising that “she was killed by such homegrown terrorists.”

Former Pakistan PM Benazir Bhutto was assassinated on December 27, 2007, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.

After India suspended the IWT, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari declared, “The Indus is ours and will remain ours—either our water will flow through it, or their blood.”

Speaking to reporters, Owaisi said his party- the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen- supports the Centre’s decision to suspend the IWT.

However, he raised concerns about where the water from the Indus River would be stored after the treaty’s suspension, stating, “It has to be stored somewhere.” Under the World Bank-brokered treaty, India was granted exclusive rights to the water of the eastern rivers — the Sutlej, Beas, and Ravi — amounting to an average annual flow of about 33 million acre-feet (MAF). The water of the western rivers — the Indus, Jhelum and Chenab — with an average annual flow of around 135 MAF, was largely allocated to Pakistan.

With the treaty now put in abeyance, the government is looking at ways to utilise the water of the Indus, Jhelum and Chenab

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