New Delhi: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has tore apart Pakistan new ‘scare tactics’ and said that if China wanted to reduce the Brahmaputra river’s water flow, it would benefit the state. Sarma said that China’s move would have helped Assam lessen the devastating annual floods.
Earlier, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif cited India’s suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty and warned that China might also use water as a weapon by reducing the Brahmaputra’s water flow in support of Pakistan. However, CM Sarma dismissed Pakistan’s warning in a strongly worded rebuttal post on X (formerly Twitter) and called it “manufactured threat”. He said that a “single source” does not control the Brahmaputra.
He pointed out that out of the total water flow of the Brahmaputra, China contribution is only 30-35 per cent, mostly through glacial melt and limited Tibetan rainfall, while India generates the remaining 65 to 70 per cent through monsoon rain, its tributaries, and additional inflows from the Khasi, Garo, and Jaintia Hills.
Sarma wrote on X, “After India decisively moved away from the outdated Indus Waters Treaty, Pakistan is now spinning another manufactured threat: What if China stops the Brahmaputra’s water to India?” He wrote, “The Brahmaputra is not a river India depends on upstream — it is a rain-fed Indian river system, strengthened after entering Indian territory.”
What If China Stops Brahmaputra Water to India?
A Response to Pakistan’s New Scare NarrativeAfter India decisively moved away from the outdated Indus Waters Treaty, Pakistan is now spinning another manufactured threat:
“What if China stops the Brahmaputra’s water to India?”…— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) June 2, 2025
He also said that if China reduced the water flow of the Brahmaputra, it would help Assam mitigate the annual floods that displace lakhs of people every year apart from destroying crops and animals. In 2025, the floods have affected over 5 lakh people in Assam. He wrote, “Even if China were to reduce water flow (unlikely as China has never threatened or indicated in any official forum), it may actually help India mitigate the annual floods in Assam, which displace lakhs and destroy livelihoods every year.”
He further wrote, “Meanwhile, Pakistan — which has exploited 74 years of preferential water access under the Indus Waters Treaty — now panics as India rightfully reclaims its sovereign rights. Let’s remind them:
Brahmaputra is not controlled by a single source — it is powered by our geography, our monsoon, and our civilisational resilience.”
