Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said India “only paused” its military action against Pakistan, in his first speech to the nation since a ceasefire following a fierce military confrontation last week that threatened a fifth all-out war between the nuclear-armed neighbours.
Speaking on Wednesday, the ultranationalist Hindu leader said in New Delhi that his government will not make a distinction between governments that support “terrorism” and “terrorist groups”. He said India would “retaliate on its own terms” if there is any future “terror” attack on the country.
The Indian military launched multiple missile attacks targeting sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir on May 6, claiming it had hit “terrorist infrastructure”.
Pakistan rejected that claim.
Pakistan chose to “attack” India rather than combat terrorism, Modi stated, asserting that his country “will not tolerate nuclear blackmail”.
“We will be monitoring every step of Pakistan,” Modi added, saying that “This is not an era of war, but this is not an era of terrorism, either.”
Turning to the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan, Modi said, “Terror and trade cannot go together, water and blood cannot flow together.”
The treaty, brokered by the World Bank, has long survived multiple crises between the two rivals. However, India’s recent decision to stop the flow of water signals a sharp diplomatic shift, using water that Pakistan relies on for agricultural and civilian purposes as leverage.
Pakistan’s Finance Minister said in an interview with the Reuters news agency on Monday that the Indus Waters Treaty, unilaterally suspended by India, “has to be rolled back to where it was”.
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