Omar, Mehbooba engage in war of words over revivial of Tulbul navigation project
A fierce war of words erupted between Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti over the revival of the long-stalled Tulbul Navigation Barrage project, amid ongoing tensions between India and Pakistan.
While Omar accused her of taking the conversation to a “gutter level,” she called his comments on the project “irresponsible” and “dangerously provocative.”
On Thursday, Omar Abdullah had wondered if work could be resumed on the Tulbul Navigation Barrage project in Wular Lake—India’s largest freshwater lake—after the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT).
The treaty was put in abeyance following a decision by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) on April 23, a day after the Pahalgam terror attack.
The project was conceived before militancy began in Kashmir, and work on it commenced in the 1980s. Pakistan had objected to it, claiming it contravened the IWT. The Indian side, however, pointed out that the structure was not a storage facility but a navigation aid. After militancy erupted in Kashmir in the 1990s, work on the project was halted.
The project remained on hold, and in the late 2000s, the J&K government initiated the Wular Conservation Project, modelled on the Tulbul Navigation Project. In 2012, militants targeted the conservation project, forcing another halt. Several meetings between India and Pakistan over the years remained inconclusive.
Mufti said on Friday that Omar Abdullah’s call to revive the Tulbul Navigation Project amid ongoing tensions between India and Pakistan was 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,” she said in a post on X.
“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,” she added.
Omar had said on Thursday that the project would give J&K the advantage of using the Jhelum for navigation and would also improve power generation for downstream power projects, especially in winter.
On Friday, as Mehbooba targeted Omar, the Chief Minister responded on X by saying, “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,” he said.
To this, Mehbooba replied: “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,” Mufti said, adding that in contrast, the PDP has “consistently upheld its convictions & commitments… Our actions speak for themselves,” she said.
The Chief Minister said he would rise above the “gutter,” where the PDP president wanted to take the conversation. “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 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 National Conference leader added.
Not only Omar and Mehbooba, but leaders of both parties also joined in and targeted each other.
J & K