Srinagar, May 16: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah Friday slammed People’s Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti over her remarks on Tulbul navigation barrage project, accusing her of “pleasing” some people across the border.
In response to a post by Mehbooba Mufti on X, CM Omar said that the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) has been one of the biggest historic betrayals of the interests of the people of J&K. “I have always opposed this treaty & I will continue to do so,” Omar said.
“Actually what is unfortunate is that with your blind lust to try to score cheap publicity points & please some people sitting across the border, you refuse to acknowledge that the IWT has been one of the biggest historic betrayals of the interests of the people of J&K,” he said.
He added that he has always opposed this treaty and will continue to do so. “Opposing a blatantly unfair treaty is in no way, shape, size or form warmongering, it’s about correcting a historic injustice that denied the people of J&K the right to use our water for ourselves,” he said.
The PDP chief, in a response to Omar Abdullah’s post on X, had termed the call for the revival of the Tulbul navigation project amid the ongoing tensions between India and Pakistan as “deeply unfortunate”.
“J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s call to revive the Tulbul Navigation Project amid ongoing tensions between India & Pakistan is deeply unfortunate. At a time when both countries have just stepped back from the brink of a full-fledged war—with Jammu and Kashmir bearing the brunt through the loss of innocent lives, widespread destruction and immense suffering such statements are not only irresponsible but also dangerously provocative,” she had said.
Mehbooba Mufti had said the people deserve peace as much as anyone else in the country. “Weaponising something as essential and life giving as water is not only inhumane but also risks internationalizing what should remain a bilateral matter,” she had wrote on X.
Earlier, CM Omar, in a post on X, had said, “The Wular lake in North Kashmir. The civil works you see in the video is the Tulbul Navigation Barrage. It was started in the early 1980s but had to be abandoned under pressure from Pakistan citing the Indus Water Treaty. Now that the IWT has been ‘temporarily suspended’ I wonder if we will be able to resume the project.
He added that it will give the advantage of allowing us to use the Jhelum for navigation. “It will also improve the power generation of downstream power projects, especially in winter.”
