Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti Clash Over Tulbul Navigation Project Amid Indus Waters Treaty Suspension

On Friday, Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah dismissed Mehbooba Mufti's criticism of his revival of the Tulbul Navigation Project as "cheap publicity" and "efforts to appease certain constituents" in Pakistan.

In responding to Abdullah's remarks, Mufti sharply claimed that Abdullah's grandfather Sheikh Abdullah once supported the idea of joining Pakistan after he was ousted from power in Jammu and Kashmir.

“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 & commitments & unlike your party whose loyalties have shifted dramatically according to political expediency,” she wrote on X.

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“We don’t need to stoke tensions or adopt warmongering rhetoric to validate our dedication. Our actions speak for themselves,” the PDP leader added.

Tulbul project and Indus Waters Treaty

The National Conference leader had promoted participation in the immediate revival of the Tulbul Navigation project after India suspended the Indus Water Treaty with Pakistan following the April 22 Pahalgam terrorist attack.

Abdullah explained that the Tulbul Navigation project would enable the people of Jammu and Kashmir to utilize Jhelum River waters to aid in navigation and to improve power generation in the extremely cold climate of winter. Abdullah had criticized the World Bank brokered treaty as "deeply unfair" to the residents of the new union territory.

“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,” Abdullah wrote on X while posting a video of the river.

In reaction to Abdullah's proposal Mufti described Abdullah's proposal as "deeply unfortunate" being proposed at a time when India and Pakistan retreated from "a full-fledged war".

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“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. 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 leader wrote on X.

Abdullah in reaction to Mufti claimed her remarks were a signal of "cheap publicity" and making efforts to "please some people in Pakistan", without acknowledging disadvantages of signing the IWT.

“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. 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.

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