In a sharp escalation of rhetoric following the deadly Pahalgam terror attack on April 22 that killed 26 people in Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan’s ambassador to Russia, Muhammad Khalid Jamali, has warned that Islamabad would use the “full spectrum of force,” including nuclear weapons, if India attacks Pakistan or disrupts its water supply. In an interview with Russia’s state-owned TASS agency, Jamali emphasized that any interference with the Indus Waters Treaty would be treated as an act of war and responded to accordingly. The warning comes days after India suspended the key water-sharing accord as part of its diplomatic retaliation.

Jamali linked the threat of military action directly to the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty, cautioning that diverting or stopping water flows to Pakistan would escalate into war. While urging de-escalation due to both countries being nuclear powers, he also reiterated Pakistan’s call for a neutral, international probe into the Pahalgam attack. Pakistan accused India of scapegoating it and insisted that unless the “root cause”—Kashmir’s unresolved status—is addressed, such attacks would continue. He invited powers like China and Russia to oversee investigations and urged the global community to uphold UN resolutions on Kashmir.

India, on the other hand, has held Pakistan-based groups responsible for the attack and vowed decisive retaliation. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a meeting with top military officials on April 29, granted the armed forces full operational freedom to decide on India’s response. Following this, the suspension of the Indus Accord was announced, further straining relations. Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Deputy PM Ishaq Dar reached out to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Sunday, seeking Moscow’s help in defusing the situation between the nuclear-armed neighbors.