Omar Abdullah hits out at Pakistan over Indus Waters, Says ‘This Water is Ours, These are Our Rivers’

Jammu Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday backed India’s decision to keep the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance, saying the region had suffered for years due to restrictions on the use of its water resources.

 

 

Reacting to Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s remarks on the Indus waters, Omar said, “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? Of the six rivers, three, those flowing through Punjab, were retained by India, while the other three were handed over to Pakistan.

 

 

We have been suffering the consequences of the Indus Waters Treaty ever since. We could not even draw drinking water from the Chenab.

 

 

We could not build a barrage at Tulbul and use the Jhelum for irrigation. 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’s remarks came after Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif raked up the Indus water issue, saying every drop of water from the Indus river system was a “red line” for Islamabad and there would be no compromise on the water issue. He further said that if India did not come to the right path, Pakistan would give it a 'direct response'.

 

 

India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty following the Pahalgam terror attack in April 2025, in which 26 people were killed. India has reiterated that the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan will remain in abeyance until Islamabad ends its support to terrorism.