“Trying to please people across border”, Says CM Omar on Mehbooba’s IWT remark

Srinagar|May,16: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and People Democratic Party (PDP) engage in a war of words on X, on Friday. After Mufti questioned the CM’s stand on the Indus Treaty, Abdullah lashed out at her and accused her of trying to “please some people sitting across the border”. He maintained his stand against the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), saying that it had been the “biggest historical betrayal” to the interests of people in Jammu and Kashmir.
Chief Minister Abdullah argued that opposition to the “unfair treaty” does not characterise as “warmongering”, but rather about making corrections. “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. I have always opposed this treaty and 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,” Abdullah replied to Mufti on X. Earlier, Mufti launched a scathing attack against Omar Abdullah over a call for the revival of the Tulbul Navigation project, labelling the demand as “irresponsible and dangerously provocative”. She said that such statements were “dangerously provocative” given that both countries have moved away from the brink of a “full-fledged war”, with people of Jammu and Kashmir bearing the brunt of destruction. “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,” Mehbooba, former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, posted on X. She said that people in J&K deserve peace and “weaponising” water, which is essential and life-giving, was “inhumane” and internationalises a bilateral issue. “Our 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 internationalising what should remain a bilateral matter,” Mehbooba added. Abdullah had advocated for the revival of the Tulbul Navigation project, given that the IWT has been suspended following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.