Last Updated:May 16, 2025, 14:31 IST

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday slammed Mehbooba Mufti over calling his stance on reinstating the Tulbul Navigation Project ‘deeply irresponsible.’

Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah | File Images.PTI

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday hit back at Mehbooba Mufti for opposing the reinstatement of the Tulbul Navigation Project, accusing her of ignoring how the Indus Waters Treaty has historically betrayed J&K’s interests.

The remark came after Mehbooba Mufti called Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s stance on resuming work on the Tulbul Navigation Project “deeply irresponsible.”

“Actually what is unfortunate is that with your blind lust to try to score cheap publicity points and 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,” said Abdullah in an X post.

He reaffirmed his stance on the Indus Treaty, saying that he would continue to oppose it.

“I have always opposed this treaty & I 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.

On Thursday, Omar Abdullah expressed his views on the potential resumption of the Tulbul Navigation Barrage project on Wullar Lake in light of the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty.

Posting on X, he wrote, “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 further noted that completing the barrage would enhance the use of the Jhelum River for navigation and boost power generation from downstream projects, particularly during winter.

Responding on X, Mehbooba Mufti criticised Abdullah’s remarks, calling them “deeply irresponsible.” She stated, “At a time when both nations have just stepped back from the brink of war—with Jammu and Kashmir once again paying the highest price through loss of innocent lives, destruction, and suffering—such provocative statements are deeply irresponsible.”

Emphasising the need for peace and stability in the region, Mufti added that politicising water, a vital resource, is inhumane and risks turning a bilateral issue into an international one.

In the aftermath of last month’s terror attack in Pahalgam, the Centre suspended the Indus Waters Treaty, which had previously regulated water-sharing between India and Pakistan.

Location :

Jammu and Kashmir, India, India

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