'Our hands already painted with blood': Mehbooba warns Omar Abdullah over Indus Treaty remarks

NEW DELHI: People's Democratic Party (PDP) supremo Mehbooba Mufti warned on Wednesday that reopening settled issues, such as the Indus Water Treaty, could mount regional tensions and primarily benefit the BJP. Mufti's response came after recent comments from Jammu and Kashmir's CM Omar Abdullah.

Abdullah had expressed concerns that the Indus Water Treaty, signed in 1960, limits Jammu and Kashmir's hydropower potential, impacting its economy and residents, especially during winter months.

Addressing the press in Srinagar, Mufti pointed out that, although Jammu and Kashmir has faced substantial losses due to the treaty, “the Indus Water Treaty is the only pact that has persisted between India and Pakistan despite wars and conflicts.” She cautioned against making the treaty a contentious issue, a narrative she attributed to the BJP, emphasising that “any further tension will not impact the BJP or other states, but it will fall upon Jammu and Kashmir.”

Abdullah, speaking at a recent conference in New Delhi, had highlighted the treaty’s limitations, saying that Jammu and Kashmir could only develop run-of-the-river projects with no storage capacity.

"As a fallout of the treaty barriers, Jammu and Kashmir pays a heavy price in the peak winter months when power generation hits a low, creating hardships for its people," J&K CM said.

In response to J&K CM's criticism PDP supremo acknowledged the challenges of the treaty but also highlighted the importance of measured dialogue.

She pointed to past decisions where power projects were handed over to the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) by previous leaders of the Abdullah family. "The late Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah and later Farooq Abdullah ceded significant power projects to NHPC," she said, and urged Abdullah to focus on reclaiming some of these projects instead.

Mufti also appealed for financial compensation from the central government if it does not return these power projects, as Jammu and Kashmir remains a unique region that produces electricity yet still faces power shortages.

"Jammu and Kashmir is the only state which, despite generating electricity, remains in the dark. Our electricity goes to the NHPC, which then sells it back to us. So, we should not make the Indus Water Treaty an issue and create more tension between the two countries that would only benefit the BJP," the former chief minister said.

"If there is an issue, its brunt will be borne by the people of Jammu and Kashmir and it will make no difference to the BJP. It will make no difference to Punjab or Rajasthan but only to Jammu and Kashmir. Our hands are already painted with blood. So, we have to talk after thinking thoroughly and not reopen issues that are already settled to some extent, otherwise we toe the BJP's line," she added.