'May stop water… won't kill them': J&K NC chief Abdullah says India not as cruel as Pak; meets tourists in Pahalgam

Jammu and Kashmir National Conference President Farooq Abdullah, while asserting that India is not “as cruel as Pakistan is”, said that we may stop the water, "but we will not kill them”. 

Abdullah was referring to India halting the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 with Pakistan in the aftermath of the deadly terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam district, which killed 26 civilians on April 22. 

While talking to ANI, Abdullah said, “…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.”

“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. I appeal to the government of India to work on a scheme to bring that water to the people of Jammu,” the NC chief said.

Farooq Abdullah meets tourists in Pahalgam

He also met tourists in Pahalgam and asserted Kashmir was and will always be a part of India. He said that the biggest message after Pahalgam terror attack is that the tourists are “not scared”, an ANI report said.

"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 said.

The JKNC chief also met Hyder Shah, the father of Syed Adil Hussain Shah, a local who died in the Pahalgam terror attack while trying to save the tourists.

"Farooq Abdullah shared our grief and gave us courage in our sorrow, which is helping us move forward," Hyder Shah told ANI.

India bans Pakistani ships

The Centre on Saturday banned all ships bearing the flag of Pakistan from entering any Indian port amid escalating tensions between the two countries after the horrifying Pahalgam terror attack on April 22.

In a notification dated May 3, the Union Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways also said an Indian ship will also not visit any Pakistani port.

This comes hours after India banned all imports from Pakistan.

“A ship bearing the flag of Pakistan shall not be allowed to visit any Indian Port,” said the order. “An Indian flag ship shall not visit any Ports of Pakistan.”

The order will be implemented will immediate effect and will be valid until further notice, the government said.

India suspends exchange of all mail from Pakistan

The central government decided to suspend exchanges of all categories of inbound mail and parcels from Pakistan through air and surface routes, a notice issued by the Ministry of Communications said on Saturday.

Following the terror attack in Pahalgam, the Central government announced several diplomatic measures, such as closing the Integrated Check Post (ICP) at Attari, suspending the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme (SVES) for Pakistani nationals, reducing the number of officers in the High Commissions on both sides, and declaring Pakistan's top military attaches as persona non grata. India also withdrew its top military advisors from Pakistan on April 23, a day after the Pahalgam attack.