Srinagar, Aug 15: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday once again batted for the continued Indus Waters Treaty suspension, arguing that Jammu and Kashmir had paid a price for decades under restrictions on the use of its water resources. His remarks came alongside President Droupadi Murmu describing the treaty’s suspension as a “decisive step” in the national interest, particularly for farmers in her Independence Day-eve address to the nation.
Abdullah was responding to questions about Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s recent remarks on the treaty. Sharif described water as Pakistan’s “red line” and warned of a “direct response” if Pakistan’s water supplies were threatened.
“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 said.
The Chief Minister’s argument centres on the way the 1960 treaty divided the waters of the Indus river system. Under the agreement, India received unrestricted use of the eastern rivers — Ravi, Beas and Sutlej — while Pakistan was allocated the western rivers — Indus, Jhelum and Chenab. India retained certain rights to use the western rivers, including for domestic use, agriculture and hydropower, subject to treaty conditions.
Abdullah said Jammu and Kashmir had borne the consequences of those restrictions for decades.
“From then until today, we are suffering the consequences of this Indus Waters Treaty,” Abdullah said, adding that the restrictions had affected the region’s ability to fully utilise its water resources.
He cited the inability to draw drinking water from the Chenab and restrictions surrounding projects on the Jhelum as examples.
“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.
The issue of Tulbul is particularly significant in Jammu and Kashmir. The proposed project, also known as the Wular Barrage, was conceived to regulate water levels in Wular Lake and improve navigation on the Jhelum. Work on the project was suspended in 1987 following objections from Pakistan. India has maintained that the project, as proposed, falls within the rights available to it under the treaty.
Abdullah had also raised the issue in 2025, after India placed the treaty in abeyance following the April 2025 Pahalgam terror attack. At the time, he urged the Centre to clear the Tulbul Navigation Project as well as the Chenab Water Lift Scheme, which he said could address drinking-water requirements in parts of Jammu.
The Chenab proposal envisages lifting water from the river to supply areas facing water shortages. Abdullah has argued that the river could meet the drinking-water requirements of parts of the Jammu region for decades.
The treaty itself was signed in 1960 after negotiations between India and Pakistan, with the World Bank playing a role in facilitating the agreement. For more than six decades, it provided a framework for the allocation and use of the Indus river system and established mechanisms for resolving differences between the two countries.
India placed the treaty in abeyance after the Pahalgam terror attack, with New Delhi linking the decision to Pakistan’s support for cross-border terrorism.
Abdullah has now argued that the arrangement should not simply be restored in its earlier form.
“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 Chief Minister asserted.
The position puts Abdullah’s argument about Jammu and Kashmir’s water interests alongside the Centre’s broader national-security justification for keeping the treaty in abeyance.
President Murmu described the suspension as a “decisive step” in the national interest, particularly for farmers.
“Suspension of the IWT with the country that harbours terrorism is a decisive step in the interest of our nation, especially the farmers,” Murmu said.
Her remarks linked the treaty decision to the government’s wider response to terrorism, including references to Operation Sindoor.
