'Our blood has been sucked': Omar Abdullah slams Pakistan over J-K's river water rights
Accusing Pakistan of "sucking the blood" of Jammu and Kashmir by denying it the right to use its river resources, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday launched an attack on Islamabad for staking a claim over waters originating from the region, asserting that the neighbouring country cannot be selective in its sympathy for Kashmiris.
Responding to remarks by Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif regarding the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), Abdullah maintained that the people of Jammu and Kashmir have historically borne the brunt of the water-sharing framework.
"We have always been saying that our blood has been sucked — these are our rivers. We had the first right on this. Pakistanis say they are great sympathisers of Kashmiris. But when it comes to water, their sympathy disappears. Where was their sympathy when we were denied permission to use our rivers?" Abdullah told reporters here.
Sharif had earlier warned that "every drop of water is our red line" and stated that Islamabad would issue a "direct response" if its water supplies were threatened.
Lashing out at the historical division under the IWT, Abdullah pointed out that out of the six rivers, India retained three belonging to Punjab, while the three rivers of Jammu and Kashmir were handed over to Pakistan, causing long-term detriment to the local population.
"From then until today, we are suffering the consequences of this Indus Waters Treaty. We could neither draw drinking water from the Chenab, nor could we use the Jhelum for navigation by building a barrage on Tulbul, nor could we stop water by building a big dam on any of our rivers," he said.
Noting that the IWT was kept in abeyance following the terror attack in Pahalgam, the chief minister asserted that the treaty should remain revoked to allow Jammu and Kashmir to utilise its natural resources fully.
"Our blood has been sucked, and now that the Indus Waters Treaty has been suspended, it should remain suspended so that we can make proper use of this water," Abdullah asserted.
Reacting to the assassination attempt on former Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhbir Badal, Abdullah condemned it and said the incident has raised serious concerns over security lapses.
"We strongly condemn this, and such attacks should not take place. Before this also, there was an attack in Amritsar, after which it was stated that special care would be taken of his security, that there will be Z-plus security.
"But where is the Z-plus? The attack took place for the second time, this time he was even injured, and had to be taken to the hospital for treatment," Abdullah said.
He said such attacks should not happen in a democracy, and if there is any grievance against anyone, people can express that through elections. "Attacking is very dangerous for democracy," he added.
