Mehbooba Mufti; CM Omar Abdullah
Credit: Reuters Images
Srinagar: A fierce war of words broke out on Friday between
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and his predecessor Mehbooba Mufti over the revival of the Tulbul Navigation Project, after Omar pitched for resuming work on the decades-old initiative in the wake of the Indus Waters Treaty’s suspension.
The spat played out on social media platform X, with Mehbooba calling the proposal “deeply unfortunate” and accusing Omar government of “weaponizing water” at a time when India and Pakistan had only just stepped back from the brink of war. Omar hit back, calling her criticism an attempt at “cheap publicity” and an effort to “please some people” across the border.
In a post on Thursday, Omar shared a video of the Wular Lake in north Kashmir’s Bandipora district, showing the site of the halted Tulbul Navigation Barrage. “Now that the IWT has been ‘temporarily suspended’, I wonder if we will be able to resume the project,” he wrote, referring to the Indus Waters Treaty, which India suspended on April 23—a day after a terror attack in Pahalgam killed 26 civilians, mostly tourists.
The Tulbul project, initiated in 1987, was meant to regulate water flow from Wular Lake to facilitate navigation in the Jhelum River. However, it was stalled in 2007 after Pakistan objected, claiming it violated the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty.
Reacting strongly to Omar’s statement, Mehbooba warned that reviving the project could further destabilize the region. “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 posted.
“Our people deserve peace as much as anyone else in the country. Weaponizing something as essential and life giving as water is not only inhumane but also risks internationalizing what should remain a bilateral matter,” the PDP chief added.
Mehbooba also took a dig at Omar’s political legacy, invoking the role of his grandfather, Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah. “He once supported the idea of joining Pakistan after being ousted from power… but post reinstatement as Chief Minister, he suddenly reversed his stance,” she posted, claiming her party had shown greater consistency.
Omar dismissed Mehbooba’s criticism as an attempt to “score cheap publicity points” and “please some people” across the border.
“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. I have always opposed this treaty & I will continue to do so,” he said.
“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,” the chief minister wrote on X.
The heated exchange comes at a sensitive time in Indo-Pak relations, as New Delhi hardens its position following the Pahalgam attack. The suspension of the treaty has reignited debate over previously shelved water projects in Jammu and Kashmir, with possibility of Tulbul Project becoming a new flashpoint.