Jammu: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday asserted that war anywhere is not a good thing as he questioned Israel’s compulsion to attack Iran.
The National Conference leader also said that Jammu and Kashmir should have the right to use its waters and underlined that, as of now, there is no intention to divert surplus water to other states.
Abdullah was interacting with the media after inaugurating an outreach office — Raabta — in Jammu to ensure efficient grievance redressal and informed decision-making through data-driven monitoring and strategic communication.
Asked about the Israel-Iran conflict, Abdullah said, “This is not a good thing. War anywhere is not a good thing. What exactly did Iran do that forced Israel to attack? The sooner this conflict ends, the better”.
Taking a dig at Israel, he said, “Two months ago, the US intelligence chief said that Iran is nowhere close to building a nuclear bomb. That was the evidence then. And now, after two months, Israel has suddenly launched an attack on Iran.”
He said that although the war is between Iran and Israel, more than 6,000 Indians have been trapped.
“We are evacuating them one by one. Ninety students (from J&K) have already been brought out, and another 400 have reached safer locations. Efforts are on to evacuate more than 6,000 students, out of which 1,400 are from Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.
Asked about some of the 90 students — who landed in Delhi on Thursday morning after being evacuated from Iran — complaining about the condition of buses in which they were taken to Kashmir, he admitted that the vehicles arranged initially “weren’t up to the mark”.
“As soon as we were informed, we arranged proper vehicles, and they are now reaching their homes… Officials there have been told to be more careful in the future,” he said.
Asserting that Jammu and Kashmir should be allowed to use its waters, Abdullah made it clear that no permission will be given as of now for any proposal to build a canal to divert surplus water to other states.
“Nobody will give it (approval). As of now, I am not going to give approval to it. Let us be allowed to use our water first, then we will talk about others,” Abdullah said.
He was replying to a question on the central government’s proposed construction of a 113-km canal to transfer surplus water from Jammu and Kashmir to Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan to prevent it from flowing to neighbouring Pakistan.
“Right now, Jammu is facing water scarcity… There is no water in the taps. Why should I send water to Punjab? Punjab already has three rivers as per the Indus Waters Treaty. Has Punjab given us any water?” he said.
The chief minister highlighted that when Jammu and Kashmir was desperate for water, Punjab did not share water from the Ujh multipurpose project and Shahpur Kandi barrage.
“They made us suffer for years, and only after a prolonged struggle did they take some steps,” he said.
“We will use it (water) first, and only then consider others’ needs,” he added.
Speaking about the Indus Waters Treaty, he said the government is working on two key projects — The Tulbul Barrage, work on which should resume soon, and the pumping of water from the Chenab River at Akhnoor to supply drinking water to Jammu city.
Abdullah also expressed hope that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the government will stand by their commitment to restore statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.
“We are hopeful that the prime minister, who made a promise to the people and reiterated that promise during the Sonamarg event and afterwards too, and the government will stand by their commitment, and Jammu and Kashmir will get back its status as a state.”
Asked if taking the legal route was under consideration, he said, “When the time comes to talk about legal options, I will call you.”
On the issue of reservation in government services raised by PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, he said, “How can Mehbooba Mufti speak on this issue now? Check her past tweets (posts on X); she remained silent on this earlier. Now she is showing fake sympathy.”
He said the Law Department is examining the report on the issue of reservation. Once the report comes back, the Cabinet will hold discussions on it.
Meanwhile, the Chief Minister said that a request will be made to Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and the Railway Ministry to increase the capacity of trains.
Raising the issue of high demand for train travel, Abdullah said, “The number of passengers is high, but there are fewer trains.”
A request will be made to the Railway Ministry and the Railway Minister to increase the capacity as the tickets are reportedly unavailable until next month, he added.
Punjab’s political leaders target Omar Abdullah for remarks on water sharing
The ruling Aam Aadmi Party, Congress, and the Shiromani Akali Dal in Punjab on Friday targeted Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah for his remarks that no permission will be given as of now for any proposal to build a canal to divert surplus water to other states.
Interacting with the media in Jammu on Friday, Abdullah asserted that Jammu and Kashmir should be allowed to use its waters first.
The chief minister was replying to a question on the Central government’s proposed construction of a 113-km canal to transfer surplus water from Jammu and Kashmir to Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan to prevent it from flowing to neighbouring Pakistan.
“Right now, Jammu is facing water scarcity… There is no water in the taps. Why should I send water to Punjab? Punjab already has three rivers as per the Indus Water Treaty. Has Punjab given us any water,” he asked. “We will use it (water) first, and only then consider others’ needs,” he added.
Reacting to Abdullah’s remarks, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) spokesperson Neel Garg accused the National Conference leader of deliberately politicising the water issue, saying the authority to decide on river waters lies with the Central government.
“Hence, Omar Abdullah cannot take a unilateral decision on this matter,” Garg said in a statement.
He also emphasised that Punjab needs water, and therefore, it should also get a share of the Indus River’s water.
“Now, it is the Centre’s responsibility to appropriately distribute the remaining water and give Punjab its rightful share,” he said.
Pointing out that Punjab is also a border state like Jammu and Kashmir, Garg said, “Whenever there is a war, Punjab becomes the battleground. And when the country needs foodgrains, it becomes the granary of the nation. Now that there is water available, Punjab has a legitimate claim over it.”
Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring said in a statement, “It is unbecoming of the J-K chief minister to make such remarks when the canals proposed to be constructed are meant to save water from flowing into Pakistan.”
Claiming that Abdullah was trying to “politicise the issue”, Warring said, “Where will you send the water and where will you divert the canals?”
Pointing out that Punjab would be the natural course of flow for the canals, Warring said Abdullah’s remarks “only smacks of partisan political rhetoric when the issue is very sensitive from the point of national interest”.
Moreover, he said, given the sensitivity of the matter, Abdullah should not have made such remarks and sounded discordant notes at this stage.
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) also targeted the J-K chief minister for his remarks. Former minister and senior SAD leader Daljit Singh Cheema said in a statement, “It is a historical fact that the then Indira Gandhi government did great injustice to Punjab by giving away a huge share of its river water to Rajasthan, a non-riparian state.”
“Every time it is Punjab which suffers the most. River waters were snatched from our state,” Cheema alleged.
He also accused Abdullah of attempting to do injustice to Punjab. Cheema said that while filling the food bowl of the country, Punjab has lost its ground water which has fallen to alarming levels.
The farmers of Punjab took huge debt on their shoulders to fulfil the food requirement of the country, he claimed.
Welcoming the Centre’s announcement to keep the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan in abeyance, Cheema said the decision provided a historic opportunity to the Central government to “undo the injustice done to Punjab by the erstwhile Indira Gandhi government”.
Cheema also said that before issuing such statements, Abdullah should keep in mind the requirements of the farmers of Punjab and other states of the country.
