Mourners at the funeral of a man killed in Israeli strikes. Amir Hossein Nazari/Tasnim/WANA
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday asserted that war anywhere is not a good thing as he questioned Israel's compulsion to attack Iran.
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. Abdullah was interacting with the media after inaugurating an outreach office -- Raabta -- in Jammu to ensure efficient grievance redressal and informed decision-making through data-driven monitoring and strategic communication.
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, Israel's 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. -- PTI
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