Omar accuses Mehbooba of ‘pleasing people across border’; PDP hits back
Srinagar: A war of words erupted between Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and PDP president Mehbooba Mufti over the revival of the Tulbul navigation barrage project, with both leaders trading sharp accusations on social media over Kashmir’s water rights, Indo-Pak relations, and political posturing.
Omar accused Mehbooba of trying to “please some people across the border” and failing to acknowledge the historical injustice of the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) against Jammu and Kashmir.
Initially, Omar had shared a video of Wular Lake in north Kashmir, the site of 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 can resume the project,” he wrote. He added the project would help enable navigation along the Jhelum and boost downstream power generation, particularly in winter.
Sharing the tweet, Mehbooba posted, “JK 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 dangerously provocative.”
She added that people of JK deserve peace just like the rest of 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,” she said.
Responding to Mehbooba’s post, Omar said: “I have always opposed this treaty and will continue to do so. 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 JK.”
He clarified that his opposition to the IWT should not be confused with warmongering. “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,” Omar said.
Amid the political back-and-forth, PDP MLA Waheed ur Rehman Para countered Omar’s accusations in a post on X.
He wrote, “This comes from a Chief Minister who tried to sabotage ceasefire efforts with war cries, watched civilians die under cross-border shelling, and whose father blamed locals for Pahalgam even after the Government of India identified the culprits. Now he dares to accuse a former CM of ‘pleasing people across’? Objective is to label every peace-seeking Kashmiri as anti-national to keep Kashmir alienated from Delhi. Ironically, to score cheap political points, he brands the same former CM as a BJP ally in Kashmir and an anti-national in Delhi.”
