What exactly did Iran do to provoke Israel, asks Omar Abdullah
Jammu (PTI): 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.
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.
"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.
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."
On the issue of reservation in government services raised by PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, he said, "How can Mehbooba Mufti speak on this issue now? Check her past tweets (posts on X); she remained silent on this earlier. Now she is showing fake sympathy."
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.
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'Go back to your own country': Indian-origin taxi driver attacked in Dublin
London, Aug 5 (PTI): An Indian-origin taxi driver based in Ireland for over 23 years has become the latest to be targeted in an unprovoked attack in the capital Dublin, with local police (Gardai) launching an investigation into the violent assault.
Lakhvir Singh, in his 40s, told local media that he picked up two young men in their 20s on Friday night and dropped them at Poppintree, in the Ballymun suburb of Dublin.
Upon arriving at the destination, the men are said to have opened the vehicle door and struck him twice on the head with a bottle. As the suspects fled, they reportedly shouted: "Go back to your own country".
"In 10 years I've never seen anything like this happen," Singh told ‘Dublin Live’.
"I'm really scared now and I'm off the road at the moment. It will be very hard to go back. My children are really scared," he said.
A Dublin police spokesperson said Singh was taken to the city's Beaumont Hospital with injuries determined as not life-threatening.
"Gardaí are investigating an assault reported to have occurred in Poppintree, Ballymun, Dublin 11 at approximately 11:45 pm on Friday, 1st August 2025. A man, aged in his 40s, was brought to Beaumont Hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injury. Investigations are ongoing," the spokesperson said.
The incident followed an Indian Embassy advisory, also issued on Friday, expressing safety concerns following recent attacks in and around the capital Dublin and urging Indian citizens to take safety precautions.
"There has been an increase in the instances of physical attacks reported against Indian citizens in Ireland recently,” states the advisory.
“The embassy is in touch with the authorities concerned in Ireland in this regard. At the same time, all Indian citizens in Ireland are advised to take reasonable precautions for their personal security and avoid deserted areas, especially at odd hours," the statement reads, adding emergency embassy contact details as 0899423734 and cons.dublin@mea.gov.in.
It came in the wake of a brutal attack on a 40-year-old Indian man at Parkhill Road in the Tallaght suburb of Dublin on July 19, described as “mindless, racist violence” by locals.
The Gardai had opened an investigation into the case and Indian Ambassador to Ireland Akhilesh Mishra was among those who took to social media to express shock over the attack.
“Regarding the recent incident of physical attack on an Indian national that happened in Tallaght, Dublin, the embassy is in touch with the victim and his family. All the requisite assistance is being offered. The embassy is also in touch with the relevant Irish authorities in this regard,” the embassy said in a social media post days after the incident.
A Stand Against Racism protest was also held by the local community in condemnation of what was described as a "vicious racist attack" and to express solidarity with migrants.
Last week, Dr Santosh Yadav took to LinkedIn to post details of a “brutal, unprovoked racist attack”.
The entrepreneur and AI expert stressed that it was not an isolated incident and called for “concrete measures” from the governments of Ireland and India to ensure Indians feel safe to walk the streets of Dublin.
His post revealed that a group of six teenagers attacked him from behind as he walked to his apartment in Dublin.
“This is not an isolated incident. Racist attacks on Indian men and other minorities are surging across Dublin — on buses, in housing estates, and on public streets. Yet, the government is silent. There is no action being taken against these perpetrators. They run free and are emboldened to attack again,” reads Yadav's post.
Fine Gael party Councillor for Tallaght South, Baby Pereppadan, was among those who expressed concern following last month’s attack.
“People need to understand that many Indian people moving to Ireland are here on work permits, to study and work in the healthcare sector or in IT and so on, providing critical skills,” he said.
Another violent anti-Indian attack in Ireland
— Journalist V (@OnTheNewsBeat) August 5, 2025
Taxi driver Lakhvir Singh was attacked with glass bottles while doing his job pic.twitter.com/mtkwhLWISx
