India must uphold water-sharing treaty with Pakistan, arbitration court says
- India "categorically" rejects international court's order
The Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled India must limit work on a hydroelectric plant in IIOJK and uphold the Indus Water Treaty with Pakistan, which remains fully in force.
- The Indus Water Treaty remaining fully in force.
- India's lack of justification for suspending the agreement.
- A neutral expert assessing hydroelectric plant construction by 2027.
AMSTERDAM/MUMBAI: India must limit work on an hydroelectric plant in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) region and uphold a water-sharing treaty with Pakistan it suspended over tensions with its neighbouring country, the Permanent Court of Arbitration said on Monday.
The Hague-based court said the Indus Water Treaty between the two countries remained fully in force, as India had no justification for ending or suspending the agreement.
India’s move to hold IWT in abeyance breaches international law: experts
The court said a neutral expert, appointed by the World Bank, would judge by July 2027 whether the construction of hydroelectric plants in the Himalayan region was in line with the treaty.
In response to the order, India said on Monday that it categorically rejects the order of the Permanent Court of Arbitration to uphold a water-sharing treaty with Pakistan that New Delhi suspended over diplomatic tensions with its neighbour.
India’s 2025 decision to hold the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance remains in force, the Indian foreign ministry said in response to the Hague-based court’s ruling.