Srinagar, May 16: Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti has strongly criticized current Chief Minister Omar Abdullah for supporting the revival of the Tulbul Navigation Project at a sensitive time when tensions between India and Pakistan are high.
She said, “Right now, both countries have just avoided war. Jammu and Kashmir people have already suffered the most, with many innocent lives lost and properties destroyed. In such a situation, making such statements is very wrong and irresponsible.”
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Mehbooba Mufti said the people of Jammu and Kashmir need peace, not actions that may lead to more problems. She added, “Turning water—something that gives life—into a weapon is not only cruel, but it can also make this issue go international. It should remain a matter only between India and Pakistan.”
Her remarks came in response to Omar Abdullah’s post on social media platform X, where he shared a video of Wular Lake in North Kashmir. In the post, he said:
“The civil work in the video is the Tulbul Navigation Barrage. It started in the early 1980s but was stopped because of Pakistan’s objections under the Indus Water Treaty. Now that the treaty is temporarily suspended, I wonder if we can start the project again. It will help in using the Jhelum river for navigation and also improve electricity generation from downstream projects, especially during winter.”
