KARACHI / HYDERABAD: The Sindh chapter of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) on Sunday staged rallies in every district across the province in protest against India’s water aggression and its unilateral attempt to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT).

Titled ‘Marsoon Marsoon, Sindhu Na Desoon’ (We will die, but we will not give up the Indus), PPP leaders, workers and supporters warned that there would be no option except war if Pakistan’s people were deprived of water and food, leaving them to face hunger.

The demonstrations reiterated the party’s commitment to defending Pakistan’s water rights and called for the protection of the Indus through constitutional, legal, diplomatic and democratic means.

In Karachi’s South district, the rally marched from the Sindh Assembly building to the Karachi Press Club (KPC).

Ruling party stages province-wide demos against India’s move to suspend Indus Water Treaty; vows to defend country’s water rights through legal, diplomatic and democratic means

Addressing participants outside the KPC, Sindh Labour Minister Saeed Ghani said the waters of the River Indus were not an issue for Sindh alone but a matter concerning the survival of the entire country.

He said the IWT, signed in 1960 under World Bank mediation, remained a binding international agreement that neither Pakistan nor India could revoke unilaterally. He noted that the treaty had remained intact even during the wars of 1965 and 1971, underscoring its legal significance.

Referring to PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari’s recent address in Sukkur, he said the PPP chief had made it clear that Pakistanis would never remain silent if their water rights were violated.

Mr Ghani warned that depriving millions of people of water and food would have serious consequences.

He added that the people of Pakistan knew how to defend their country and its interests.

“We are a peaceful people and do not want war because we believe war is not the solution to any problem,” Mr Ghani said, citing recent international conflicts where negotiations eventually replaced military confrontation.

However, he warned that if Pakistan’s people were deprived of water and food, leaving them to face hunger, “there would be no option left except war”.

Meanwhile, PPP District Keamari organised a separate protest rally from Baldia Town to Paracha Chowk, Shershah, led by PPP Sindh General Secretary Senator Waqar Mehdi and District President and MPA Liaquat Ali Askani.

Addressing the rally, Senator Mehdi described India’s move as a violation of international law and warned that the use of water as a political weapon posed a serious threat to regional peace and stability.

He said the River Indus was Pakistan’s lifeline and that any attempt to block the country’s share of water would amount to an attack on the country’s economy, agriculture, food security, national security and the fundamental rights of its people.

Separately, PPP MNA Dr Sharmila Farooqi led a separate rally from Mazar-i-Quaid to Saddar. In her address, she maintained that India’s alleged water aggression and any attempt to undermine Pakistan’s water rights were unacceptable.

Dr Farooqi said the Indus Waters Treaty was an internationally recognised agreement that must be honoured in all circumstances.

Published in Dawn, July 13th, 2026