{"id":1828,"date":"2025-08-14T14:34:37","date_gmt":"2025-08-14T14:34:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bharatnewsanalysis.com\/?p=1828"},"modified":"2025-08-14T14:34:37","modified_gmt":"2025-08-14T14:34:37","slug":"pakistans-hollow-threats-expose-economic-desperation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bharatnewsanalysis.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/14\/pakistans-hollow-threats-expose-economic-desperation\/","title":{"rendered":"Pakistan\u2019s hollow threats expose economic desperation"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Sanjeev Oak<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the last 48 hours, Pakistan has issued three separate threats to India, warning of dire consequences if New Delhi suspends the Indus Waters Treaty. The bluster\u2014from firing missiles at India to \u201cdestroying half the world\u201d\u2014has laid bare not only Islamabad\u2019s growing helplessness in the face of a collapsing economy, but also its role as a pawn in the larger geopolitical games of the United States.<\/p>\n

Pakistan Army chief General Asim Munir, speaking in the US, claimed Islamabad could unleash missile strikes on India and devastate \u201chalf the world.\u201d His remarks\u2014seen as a veiled nuclear threat\u2014drew sharp criticism from Washington. Former Pentagon official Michael Rubin called the language \u201cunacceptable\u201d and reminiscent of Osama bin Laden\u2019s rhetoric. Rubin demanded that Pakistan be stripped of its status as a major non-NATO ally and formally designated a \u201cstate sponsor of terrorism\u201d\u2014a move that would make Islamabad the first such nation in that category.<\/p>\n

Indus treaty flashpoint<\/h3>\n

At the core of Pakistan\u2019s threats lies India\u2019s decision to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty. Signed in 1960, the agreement allocated the waters of the Indus, Jhelum and Chenab to Pakistan, while the Ravi, Beas and Sutlej remained with India. The treaty underpinned Pakistan\u2019s agriculture, drinking water and hydropower needs.<\/p>\n

But after the recent Pahalgam terror attack, India announced it would halt water flows, stating bluntly that \u201cblood and water cannot flow together.\u201d The suspension has already begun to bite. Reservoir levels in Pakistan dropped by 20% in June compared to last year, sharply reducing kharif sowing and hitting cotton (down 30%) and maize (down 15%) production. Agriculture accounts for 23% of Pakistan\u2019s GDP\u2014making the fallout immediate and severe.<\/p>\n

India has coupled this with \u201cOperation Sindoor\u201d<\/strong>, targeting Pakistan\u2019s supply lines and neutralising threats with missile strikes\u2014some of which also affected American aircraft in the region. For Pakistan, the suspension of Indus waters is not merely a diplomatic setback but a direct blow to its food security and economy.<\/p>\n

Washington\u2019s double game<\/h3>\n

Munir\u2019s rhetoric in the US, coupled with Washington\u2019s silence, has highlighted American duplicity. While the US officially backs India in the fight against terrorism, it continues to view Pakistan as a useful pawn in its geopolitical calculus, particularly in relation to Afghanistan, Central Asia and China\u2019s Belt and Road Initiative. Recently, Washington even designated the Baloch Liberation Army a terrorist outfit\u2014a move that served Pakistan\u2019s interests.<\/p>\n

Rubin questioned why senior American generals did not walk out of Munir\u2019s meetings, calling the episode a dangerous signal of leniency.<\/p>\n

Contrasting trajectories<\/h3>\n

As Pakistan marked its Independence Day on August 14, the contrast with India was stark. Born in the same year, the two nations have diverged dramatically over 78 years. India today is the world\u2019s fourth-largest economy, a spacefaring power and a leader in digital innovation. Pakistan, by contrast, teeters on the brink of bankruptcy, crippled by debt, runaway inflation and the scourge of terrorism.<\/p>\n

Analysts attribute the divergence to India\u2019s inclusive democratic culture, investments in science, technology and infrastructure, and a pluralist ethos. Pakistan, on the other hand, has been mired in military rule, religious radicalism and political patronage of terror groups.<\/p>\n

A warning ignored<\/h3>\n

India has long honoured the Indus Treaty\u2014even during wartime. But Islamabad\u2019s provocations and reckless threats are forcing a rethink. Under treaty provisions, New Delhi is entitled to fully utilise its share of waters and has already begun accelerating projects on the eastern rivers. If Pakistan continues its confrontational stance, experts warn, the consequences will be severe: food shortages, power cuts, water scarcity and political instability.<\/p>\n

Threatening India may serve as domestic political theatre for Pakistan\u2019s leadership, but it will do nothing to resolve its internal crises. India, meanwhile, has chosen a path of restraint and development\u2014investing in water management, agriculture reforms, infrastructure and technology. With steady growth, it is poised to emerge as the world\u2019s third-largest economy.<\/p>\n

Pakistan\u2019s leaders, it appears, have yet to learn that bluster does not substitute for governance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Sanjeev Oak In the last 48 hours, Pakistan has issued three separate threats to India, warning of dire consequences if New Delhi suspends the Indus Waters Treaty. The bluster\u2014from firing missiles at India to \u201cdestroying half the world\u201d\u2014has laid bare not only Islamabad\u2019s growing helplessness in the face of<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1829,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_container_layout":"default_layout","colormag_page_sidebar_layout":"default_layout","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[43,146],"class_list":["post-1828","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bharat","tag-bharat","tag-pakistan"],"magazineBlocksPostFeaturedMedia":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bharatnewsanalysis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/India-Pak-Tension.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1","medium":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bharatnewsanalysis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/India-Pak-Tension.jpg?fit=300%2C205&ssl=1","medium_large":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bharatnewsanalysis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/India-Pak-Tension.jpg?fit=660%2C450&ssl=1","large":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bharatnewsanalysis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/India-Pak-Tension.jpg?fit=660%2C450&ssl=1","1536x1536":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bharatnewsanalysis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/India-Pak-Tension.jpg?fit=660%2C450&ssl=1","2048x2048":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bharatnewsanalysis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/India-Pak-Tension.jpg?fit=660%2C450&ssl=1","colormag-highlighted-post":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bharatnewsanalysis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/India-Pak-Tension.jpg?resize=392%2C272&ssl=1","colormag-featured-post-medium":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bharatnewsanalysis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/India-Pak-Tension.jpg?resize=390%2C205&ssl=1","colormag-featured-post-small":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bharatnewsanalysis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/India-Pak-Tension.jpg?resize=130%2C90&ssl=1","colormag-featured-image":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bharatnewsanalysis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/India-Pak-Tension.jpg?resize=660%2C445&ssl=1","colormag-default-news":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bharatnewsanalysis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/India-Pak-Tension.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1","colormag-featured-image-large":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bharatnewsanalysis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/India-Pak-Tension.jpg?resize=660%2C450&ssl=1","colormag-elementor-block-extra-large-thumbnail":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bharatnewsanalysis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/India-Pak-Tension.jpg?resize=660%2C450&ssl=1","colormag-elementor-grid-large-thumbnail":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bharatnewsanalysis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/India-Pak-Tension.jpg?resize=600%2C417&ssl=1","colormag-elementor-grid-small-thumbnail":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bharatnewsanalysis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/India-Pak-Tension.jpg?resize=285%2C450&ssl=1","colormag-elementor-grid-medium-large-thumbnail":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bharatnewsanalysis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/India-Pak-Tension.jpg?resize=575%2C198&ssl=1","sow-carousel-default":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bharatnewsanalysis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/India-Pak-Tension.jpg?resize=272%2C182&ssl=1","sow-post-carousel-overlay-theme":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bharatnewsanalysis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/India-Pak-Tension.jpg?resize=360%2C450&ssl=1","sow-post-carousel-cards-theme":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bharatnewsanalysis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/India-Pak-Tension.jpg?resize=360%2C240&ssl=1","sow-blog-portfolio":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bharatnewsanalysis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/India-Pak-Tension.jpg?resize=375%2C375&ssl=1","sow-blog-grid":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bharatnewsanalysis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/India-Pak-Tension.jpg?resize=660%2C450&ssl=1","sow-blog-alternate":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bharatnewsanalysis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/India-Pak-Tension.jpg?resize=660%2C450&ssl=1"},"magazineBlocksPostAuthor":{"name":"admin","avatar":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/907e2ea9c770f6faa637f8ea68c71753beae518b717dc7c49df834cd7acded64?s=96&d=mm&r=g"},"magazineBlocksPostCommentsNumber":"0","magazineBlocksPostExcerpt":"By Sanjeev Oak In the last 48 hours, Pakistan has issued three separate threats to India, warning of dire consequences if New Delhi suspends the Indus Waters Treaty. The bluster\u2014from firing missiles at India to \u201cdestroying half the world\u201d\u2014has laid bare not only Islamabad\u2019s growing helplessness in the face of","magazineBlocksPostCategories":["Bharat"],"magazineBlocksPostViewCount":184,"magazineBlocksPostReadTime":4,"magazine_blocks_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bharatnewsanalysis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/India-Pak-Tension.jpg?fit=660%2C450&ssl=1",660,450,false],"medium":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bharatnewsanalysis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/India-Pak-Tension.jpg?fit=300%2C205&ssl=1",300,205,true],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bharatnewsanalysis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/India-Pak-Tension.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1",150,150,true]},"magazine_blocks_author":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/bharatnewsanalysis.com\/index.php\/author\/admin\/"},"magazine_blocks_comment":0,"magazine_blocks_author_image":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/907e2ea9c770f6faa637f8ea68c71753beae518b717dc7c49df834cd7acded64?s=96&d=mm&r=g","magazine_blocks_category":"Bharat<\/a>","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bharatnewsanalysis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/India-Pak-Tension.jpg?fit=660%2C450&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bharatnewsanalysis.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1828","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bharatnewsanalysis.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bharatnewsanalysis.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bharatnewsanalysis.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bharatnewsanalysis.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1828"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bharatnewsanalysis.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1828\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1830,"href":"https:\/\/bharatnewsanalysis.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1828\/revisions\/1830"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bharatnewsanalysis.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1829"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bharatnewsanalysis.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1828"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bharatnewsanalysis.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1828"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bharatnewsanalysis.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1828"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}