Srinagar: What started as a war of words between Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti over the former’s call to revive the Tulbul Navigation Barrage project on Wullar Lake turned into a mudslinging match, with the Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister accusing his predecessor of taking the conversation to gutter level.
The altercation broke out after Mufti said Abdullah’s call to revive the Tulbul Navigation Barrage project in view of the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) was “irresponsible” and “dangerously provocative”.
The chief minister hit back at the PDP president, saying she refuses to acknowledge that the IWT was a “historic betrayal” with the people of Jammu and Kashmir because of her “blind lust” to score “cheap” publicity points and “please” some people across the border.
In a post on X Thursday, Abdullah wondered if work could resume on the Tulbul Navigation Barrage project in view of the suspension of the IWT.
“The Wular lake in North Kashmir. The civil works you see in the video are 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,” the National Conference (NC) leader posted from his personal X handle.
He said if completed, the Tulbul project can help use the Jhelum river for navigation purposes.
“It will give us 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,” he added.
The Centre last month put the IWT — under which India and Pakistan used to share water — in abeyance in the wake of the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.
Mufti took a dig at the chief minister Friday, saying his call to revive the project was “deeply unfortunate”.
“J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s call to revive the Tulbul Navigation Project amid ongoing tensions between India and Pakistan is deeply unfortunate,” she said in a post on X.
The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) chief said such statements are not only “irresponsible”, but “dangerously provocative” as well.
“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.
“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,” the former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister added.
Abdullah hit back at Mufti, saying her refusal to acknowledge that the IWT was a “historic betrayal” with the people of Jammu and Kashmir was due to her “blind lust” to score “cheap publicity points” and “please” some people sitting across the border.
“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,” he said in a post on X.
Abdullah said he has always opposed the 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 added.
The PDP president upped the ante and claimed that NC founder Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah had advocated Jammu and Kashmir’s accession to Pakistan, but sided with India after getting power.
“Time will reveal who seeks to appease whom. However, it’s worth recalling that your esteemed grandfather, Sheikh Sahab, once advocated for accession to Pakistan for over two decades after losing power. But post being reinstated as Chief Minister, he suddenly reversed his stance by aligning with India.
“In contrast, the PDP has consistently upheld its convictions and commitments, and unlike your party, whose loyalties have shifted dramatically according to political expediency, we don’t need to stoke tensions or adopt warmongering rhetoric to validate our dedication. Our actions speak for themselves,” she said in response to Abdullah’s post on the microblogging platform.
The chief minister said he will rise above the “gutter”, where the PDP president wanted to take the conversation.
“Is that really the best you can do? Taking cheap shots at a person you yourself have called Kashmir’s tallest leader. I’ll rise above the gutter you want to take this conversation to by keeping the late Mufti Sahib and ‘North Pole South Pole’ out of this,” he said, in a reference to the past alliance of the PDP and BJP.
“You keep advocating the interests of anyone you want to, and I’ll keep advocating for the interests of the people of J&K to use our own rivers for our own benefit. I’m not going to stop the water, just use more of it for ourselves. Now I think I’ll do some real work and you can keep posting,” the NC leader added.
PTI
