Omar Abdullah Hits Back at Pakistan PM Over Indus Waters Treaty on August 15

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah fired back at Pakistan Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s threats over the Indus Waters Treaty on August 14, calling the 1960 pact a drain on Kashmir’s resources. Abdullah said the treaty has ‘sucked the blood of Kashmiris’ and backed India’s April 2025 suspension following the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people.

What Abdullah said about the treaty

Abdullah pointed out that under the Indus Waters Treaty, three rivers flowing in Punjab (Beas, Ravi and Satluj) remained with India while waters from rivers in Jammu and Kashmir (Jehlum, Indus and Chenab) went to Pakistan. He said Kashmir has been denied permission to use its own rivers for drinking water or building barrages. ‘Our blood has been sucked. These are our waters. We have the first right on this,’ Abdullah said, accusing Pakistan of false sympathy for Kashmir while objecting to India’s water use.

Pakistan’s threats and India’s response

Sharif warned on August 13 that every drop of Pakistan’s water is a red line and threatened direct action if India continued restricting water flow. He said Pakistan would respond more forcefully than in May 2025, referring to Operation Sindoor when India conducted strikes on terror camps in Pakistan. India suspended the treaty after the Pahalgam attack on April 22, 2025, which killed 26 people.

Why Kashmir supports the suspension

Abdullah said Jammu and Kashmir has borne the consequences of the treaty since its rivers were handed to Pakistan in 1960. The region faces constraints on using water from the Chenab for drinking or constructing infrastructure like the Tulbul barrage for navigation. Abdullah strongly supported keeping the treaty suspended to allow Kashmir to use its water resources for its own development and needs.

Pakistan’s water crisis deepens

Pakistan faces a severe water shortage as about 80 percent of its farming depends on the Indus river system. The suspension has reduced water flow to Sindh and Baluchistan, raising concerns about irrigation systems like the Sukkur Barrage and threatening agriculture and the economy. Pakistan has called the suspension a threat to water security and appealed to the international community.

Final Thoughts

Abdullah’s statement reframes the Indus Waters Treaty as a burden on Kashmir rather than a shared resource. With India maintaining the suspension until Pakistan ends cross-border terrorism, the dispute shows no near-term resolution.

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