Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Aug 14: The Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah has hit back the Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for claiming his country’s rights over the Indus waters and said the “great sympathisers of Kashmiris” change its colour when it comes to water.
Strongly reacting to Mr Sharif’s assertions on the Indus Water Treaty (IWT), which India has kept in abeyance after the inhuman terror attack on the innocent tourists in Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir last year, Mr Abdullah said Pakistan has sucked the blood of Indians. “We have always said that our blood has been completely drained out through the Indus Water Treaty; these are our rivers, and we had the first right over them,” he said.
Sharif had said “every drop of water is our red line” and had warned that Pakistan would give a “direct response” if its water supplies were threatened. Retorting to Sharif’s threats, Mr Abdullah said, “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 in Srinagar.
He stated that Pakistan often claims to be a great well-wisher of the people of Kashmir but when it comes to water, where does that concern disappear? He also went on to ask where was their concern when our right to use our own rivers was taken away?
He said of the six rivers, three, those flowing through Punjab, were retained by India, while the other three were handed over to Pakistan. “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.
“Our blood has been sucked, and now that the Indus Waters Treaty has been cancelled, it should remain cancelled so that we can make proper use of this water,” the J-K CM asserted.
“Yes, this is our blood. We have always said that our blood has been drained. This water is ours… these are our rivers, and we had a rightful claim to them. Pakistan often claims to be a great well-wisher of the people of Kashmir. But when it comes to water, where does that concern disappear? Where was their concern when our right to use our own rivers was taken away?
“Nor could we build a large dam on any of our rivers to store and regulate the water. So, it is good that he called it “a drop of blood.” He was right… our blood has been drained. Now that the Indus Waters Treaty has been cancelled, it should remain cancelled so that we can make proper use of our water resources,” Omar Abdullah said.