"Blind Lust To...": Omar Abdullah, Mehbooba Mufti's Spat Over Pak Water Pact

New Delhi: A public spat broke out between Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and his predecessor Mehbooba Mufti on social media on Friday over calls for revival of the Tulbul Navigation project after the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty. Ms Mufti accused Mr Abdullah of adopting "provocative" measures amid ongoing tensions between India and Pakistan. Mr Abdullah, however, alleged that the former Chief Minister was trying to score "cheap publicity points" and "please some people" in Pakistan by opposing the idea. The Tulbul Navigation project - that seeks to rejuvenate the Jhelum-fed Wular lake in Bandipora district - was launched in 1987 but paused in 2007 amid objections from Pakistan that it violated the Indus Waters Treaty. With India suspending the Treaty on April 23, a day after the Pahalgam terror attack, Mr Abdullah on Thursday called for resumption of work in the project on Wular Lake. In a post on X, the Chief Minister said that since the water pact with Pakistan has been kept in abeyance, "I wonder if we will be able to resume the project". The National Conference leader said that if completed, the Tulbul project can help in using the Jhelum river for navigation purposes. "It will give us the advantage of allowing us to use the Jhelum for navigation. It will also improve the power generation of downstream power projects, especially in winter," he added. Under the Indus Waters Treaty governing six common rivers, all the water of the eastern rivers - Sutlej, Beas, and Ravi amounting to around 33 million acre feet (MAF) annually - has been allocated to India for unrestricted use. The waters of western rivers - Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab - amounting to around 135 MAF annually have been assigned largely to Pakistan. Ms Mufti, however, launched a scathing attack on Mr Abdullah and labelled his call as "irresponsible and dangerously provocative". The Chief Minister's call to revive the Tulbul Navigation Project amid tensions between India and Pakistan is "deeply unfortunate", she said in a post on X. "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. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief said the people of the Union Territory 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 said.