Referring to India’s decision to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan, Jammu and Kashmir National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah on Saturday said that while New Delhi has warned Islamabad about cutting off water supply, it has no intention of causing harm or taking lives.
Farooq Abdullah suggested India is “not as cruel” as Pakistan to “kill” people there.
“…India is the nation of Gandhi, we have threatened them (Pakistan) that we will stop the water, but we will not kill them. We are not as cruel as they are…” Farooq Abdullah told ANI.
He also alleged that when the Indus Waters Treaty was signed between India and Pakistan, the people of Jammu and Kashmir were not taken into confidence.
“When the Indus Waters Treaty was signed, the people of J&K were not taken into confidence. Due to its treaty, J&K has suffered the biggest loss,” the National Conference chief told ANI.
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“I appeal to the government of India to work on a scheme to bring that water to the people of Jammu…” he added.
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Earlier in the day, Abdullah also met tourists in Pahalgam and asserted Kashmir was and will always be a part of India.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Abdullah said that after the Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people were killed, the biggest message is that the tourists are “not scared.”
“The people who wanted to spread fear have lost. They (terrorists) have lost. It has been proven today that we are not going to get scared. Kashmir was and will always be a part of India. People want terrorism to finish. It has been 35 years since we have seen terrorism; we want progress. We want to move forward. We will become a superpower one day,” Abdullah was quoted as saying by ANI.
Farooq Abdullah also dismissed former Pakistan foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto’s statement, saying that the country can’t move forward if attention is paid to Bhutto’s remarks.
“If we go by Bilawal Bhutto’s statements, we cannot move forward. I have been saying for a long time that the Indus Water Treaty should be reviewed again. Our rivers and we are the ones who are deprived,” Abdullah told reporters.