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‘Most unfair document’: Omar Abdullah backs Centre's move to suspend Indus Waters Treaty
Pakistan has said that any move to suspend water sharing by India will be treated as an “act of war”
Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah, on Friday, called the now-suspended Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan the “most unfair document” for the people of the union territory, saying it never had their support.
India on Wednesday suspended the World Bank brokered 1960 treaty on water sharing with Pakistan in response to the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam that killed 26 people.
Also read | Guest column: Indus water treaty inherently unfair on India
Abdullah spoke about the Centre's move after a meeting with various tourism, trade, and industry bodies amid reports of a tourist exodus from the union territory.
“The Government of India has taken some steps. As far as Jammu and Kashmir is concerned, let's be honest, we have never been in favour of the Indus Waters Treaty. Now, what the medium to long-term implications of this are, that is something we have to wait to see,” Abdullah said.
ANI reported that Union home minister Amit Shah is expected to hold a meeting regarding the Indus Waters Treaty at his residence in the national capital on Friday evening. Union Minister for Jal Shakti, CR Paatil, and other senior government officials are also expected to attend.
Also read | Explained: Indus Waters Treaty and why India is right to ask for a review
The meeting comes after India formally notified Pakistan in writing about the treaty's suspension. The decision was made during a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) on April 23, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Pakistan has said that any move to suspend water sharing by India will be treated as an “act of war.”
"India's reckless suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty is an act of water warfare; a cowardly, illegal move," Pakistan's power minister Awais Lekhari said in a post on X late on Wednesday night.
Brokered by the World Bank, which is also a signatory, the treaty sets out a mechanism for water sharing and information exchange between the two nuclear-armed neighbours regarding the use of the Indus River water and its five tributaries: Sutlej, Beas, Ravi, Jhelum, and Chenab. The treaty was signed after negotiations for over nine years following the first war over Kashmir.
