India threatens to stop river water supply to Pakistan

India's minister for Water Resources and River Development has threatened to stop supply of water from its Eastern Rivers to Pakistan and divert it to Occupied Kashmir and Indian Punjab instead.

The threat is the latest in anti-Pakistan rhetoric coming from across the border since last week's attack in Pulwama area of Indian Occupied Kashmir, which resulted in the deaths of more than 40 Indian soldiers.

In the latest threat on Thursday, Indian Minister Nitin Gadkari said that the Narendra Modi-led government has decided to stop river water that flows to Pakistan.

"We will divert water from Eastern rivers and supply it to our people in Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab," the Indian minister for Minister of Road Transport & Highways, Shipping and Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation said in the tweets sent out to his 4.42 million followers.

"The construction of dam has started at Shahpur- Kandi on Ravi River. Moreover, UJH project will store our share of water for use in J&K and the balance water will flow from 2nd Ravi-BEAS Link to provide water to other basin states," he said.

Indian media reported Gadkari as making similar comments at a public event a day earlier.

"The water from our three rivers is going to Pakistan. Now, we are planning to build a project and divert the water from these three rivers into Yamuna river. Once this happens, Yamuna will have more water," news agency ANI quoted the Indian minister as saying on Wednesday.

Later in the evening, the Indian government the Gadkari's comments, saying he was reiterating a decision by the Cabinet late last year.

Indian media reported that the Union Cabinet had approved building of the Shahpur Kundi Dam to reduce flow of water from the Ravi River to Pakistan on December 6, 2018.