The National Conference leader also said that Jammu and Kashmir should have the right to use its waters and underlined that, as of now, there is no intention to divert surplus water to other states.
“Right now, Jammu is facing water scarcity… There is no water in the taps. Why should I send water to Punjab? Punjab already has three rivers as per the Indus Water Treaty. Has Punjab given us any water?” he said.
Asked about the Israel-Iran conflict, Abdullah said, “This is not a good thing. War anywhere is not a good thing. What exactly did Iran do that forced Israel to attack? The sooner this conflict ends, the better”.
Taking a dig at Israel, he said, “Two months ago, the US intelligence chief said that Iran is nowhere close to building a nuclear bomb. That was the evidence then. And now, after two months, Israel has suddenly launched an attack on Iran.” He said that although the war is between Iran and Israel, more than 6,000 Indians have been trapped.
“We are evacuating them one by one. Ninety students (from J-K) have already been brought out, and another 400 have reached safer locations. Efforts are on to evacuate more than 6,000 students, out of which 1,400 are from Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.
Asked about some of the 90 students — who landed in Delhi on Thursday morning after being evacuated from Iran — complaining about the condition of buses in which they were taken to Kashmir, he admitted that the vehicles arranged initially “weren’t up to the mark”.
“As soon as we were informed, we arranged proper vehicles, and they are now reaching their homes… Officials there have been told to be more careful in the future,” he said.
Asserting that Jammu and Kashmir should be allowed to use its waters, Abdullah made it clear that no permission will be given as of now for any proposal to build a canal to divert surplus water to other states.
“Nobody will give it (approval). As of now, I am not going to give approval to it. Let us be allowed to use our water first, then we will talk about others,” Abdullah said.
He was replying to a question on the central government’s proposed construction of a 113-km canal to transfer surplus water from Jammu and Kashmir to Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan to prevent it from flowing to neighbouring Pakistan.
The Chief Minister highlighted that when Jammu and Kashmir was desperate for water, Punjab did not share water from the Ujh multipurpose project and Shahpur Kandi barrage.
“They made us suffer for years, and only after a prolonged struggle did they take some steps,” he said.
“We will use it (water) first, and only then consider others’ needs,” he added.
Speaking about the Indus Water Treaty, he said the government is working on two key projects — The Tulbul Barrage, work on which should resume soon, and the pumping of water from the Chenab River at Akhnoor to supply drinking water to Jammu city.
Abdullah also expressed hope that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the government will stand by their commitment to restore statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.
“We are hopeful that the prime minister, who made a promise to the people and reiterated that promise during the Sonamarg event and afterwards too, and the government will stand by their commitment, and Jammu and Kashmir will get back its status as a state.”
Asked if taking the legal route was under consideration, he said, “When the time comes to talk about legal options, I will call you.”
He said the Law Department is examining the report on the issue of reservation. Once the report comes back, the Cabinet will hold discussions on it.
