Archive · 15 Aug 2026
Omar Abdullah slams Pakistan over J&K river water rights
India and Pakistan are two neighbouring countries that share rivers, and a long time ago they signed an agreement called the Indus Waters Treaty to decide who gets the water.
A leader from Jammu and Kashmir named Omar Abdullah says that agreement is unfair because it gave three rivers from his region to Pakistan.
He says his people could not even take drinking water from the Chenab river or travel along the Jhelum river.
The leader of Pakistan, Shehbaz Sharif, said river water is very important to his country and called it their 'red line.'
After a scary attack in a town called Pahalgam, the agreement was paused.
Abdullah says the agreement should stay paused so the people of Jammu and Kashmir can use their own river water.
He also spoke about a politician named Sukhbir Badal who was injured in an attack even though he was promised extra security.
Abdullah said people should share their complaints through elections instead of violent attacks.
He believes attacks are very dangerous for democracy.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah accused Pakistan of 'sucking the blood' of the region over river water rights, saying its sympathy for Kashmiris disappears when it comes to water.
He was responding to Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's warning that 'every drop of water is our red line' and that Islamabad would give a 'direct response' if its water supplies were threatened.
Abdullah said that under the Indus Waters Treaty, India kept the three rivers belonging to Punjab while Jammu and Kashmir's three rivers were handed over to Pakistan.
He argued that the Indus Waters Treaty, kept in abeyance after the Pahalgam terror attack, should remain suspended so J&K can use its water, including drinking water from the Chenab and navigation on the Jhelum.
He also condemned the second attack on Shiromani Akali Dal president and former Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, questioning where the promised Z-plus security was and warning that attacks are dangerous for democracy.
- Who
- Omar Abdullah, Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, who made the remarks; Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, whose comments prompted the response; and Sukhbir Singh Badal, Shiromani Akali Dal president and former Punjab deputy chief minister, over whose attack Abdullah also spoke.
- What
- Abdullah accused Pakistan of staking a claim over Jammu and Kashmir's river waters, said the suspended Indus Waters Treaty should remain suspended, and condemned the attack on Sukhbir Singh Badal, citing a security lapse.
- When
- Friday, August 14
- Where
- Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir; the dispute concerns rivers including the Chenab and Jhelum on both sides of the Line of Control (LoC).
- Why
- In response to Shehbaz Sharif's warning that 'every drop of water is our red line' and because of what Abdullah calls the long-term disadvantages the Indus Waters Treaty has caused the region.
India / Jammu and Kashmir stance
Pakistan stance
Rights to river waters
India / Jammu and Kashmir stance
Jammu and Kashmir had the first right to its rivers; the Indus Waters Treaty handed J&K's three rivers to Pakistan, and the now-suspended treaty should remain suspended so the region can use its water.
Pakistan stance
Pakistan asserts that 'every drop of water is our red line' and has warned of a 'direct response' if its water supplies are threatened.
Sympathy for Kashmiris versus water claims
India / Jammu and Kashmir stance
Pakistan claims to be a great sympathiser of Kashmiris, but its sympathy disappears when it comes to water, since J&K was denied permission to use its rivers.
Pakistan stance
Pakistan continues to stake a claim over waters originating from the region and calls its water supply a red line, even while describing itself as sympathetic to Kashmiris.
- Date
- Friday, August 14
- Location
- Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir
- Speaker
- Omar Abdullah, Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir
- Counterpart
- Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif
- Core issue
- Water rights over Jammu and Kashmir's rivers under the Indus Waters Treaty
- Treaty status
- Kept in abeyance after the Pahalgam terror attack; Abdullah says it should remain suspended
- Rivers mentioned
- Chenab and Jhelum; J&K's three rivers were handed over to Pakistan under the treaty
- Related incident
- Second attack on Sukhbir Singh Badal; he was injured and hospitalised despite promised Z-plus security, after an earlier attack in Amritsar
