Sharif Declares 'Every Single Drop' of Indus Water a Red Line, Threatens 'Direct' Response; India Says 'No Change'

Pakistani PM Shehbaz Sharif, speaking August 14, 2026 at the inauguration of the Yadgar-e-Fatah (Victory Monument) in Islamabad — commemorating Pakistan's account of the May 2025 conflict — declared that 'every single drop' of Pakistan's water is a red line and warned that 'if India does not come to its senses and does not remain on the right track, it will be responded to directly.' Sharif said Pakistan wants peace but that this must not be mistaken for weakness, accusing India of becoming an 'enemy of peace' by keeping the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance since the April 2025 Pahalgam attack. At its August 14 weekly briefing, India's MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal responded that 'there is no change in the way we think' on the treaty, reaffirming India's position that the IWT will remain suspended until Pakistan 'credibly and irrevocably' ends cross-border terrorism.