India remains bound by and must observe Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan: Hague-based court

 The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) on Monday ordered India to uphold the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) with Pakistan and suspend work on a hydro project in its controlled part of the disputed Kashmir Valley.

The Hague-based court issued the award on the status of the IWT and an order on “interim measures” concerning the Ratle hydro-electric plant, according to a PCA statement.

Islamabad had requested the PCA to address the design of certain components of the run-of-river hydro-electric projects that India is permitted by the IWT to construct on the western Indus, Jhelum and Chenab rivers and their tributaries before those rivers flow into Pakistan.

The ruling came after India in April last year held the World Bank-brokered IWT in “abeyance” following an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir’s Pahalgam that killed 26 people, blaming it on Islamabad.

However, the PCA observed that the IWT has not been terminated or its operation suspended and rather remains fully in force.

“India remains bound by and must observe its obligations under the Treaty, including those relating to the design and operation of hydro-electric projects on the Western Rivers and associated dispute settlement,” the statement further said.

None of the grounds India cited to plead its case “could justify suspension or termination of the Treaty,” the court found in a unanimous decision.

Islamabad has denied any link to last year’s Kashmir attack, which led to four days of cross-border clashes between the two nuclear-armed nations.

The PCA also considered a request from Pakistan for the imposition of measures limiting construction work at the Ratle hydro-electric plant, pending the neutral expert’s decision on whether the dam’s design complies with the treaty.

“In a unanimous decision, the Court decided to impose measures prohibiting India from concreting the RHEP (Ratle hydro-electric plant) dam wall and power intake structure above certain levels until 90 days after the Neutral Expert’s final decision, which is expected in July 2027,” the statement said.

New Delhi unmoved

Pakistan’s top diplomat Ishaq Dar welcomed the ruling, saying it vindicates Islamabad’s “consistent” position that a binding international treaty cannot be unilaterally suspended or set aside.

“India must fully comply with its obligations under the Treaty and with the binding decisions of its dispute settlement mechanisms,” Dar said in a post on US social media company X, adding that Pakistan remains firmly committed to safeguarding its rights under the IWT.

New Delhi, however, said its decision to hold the Indus Waters Treaty “in abeyance remains in force.”

The Court of Arbitration has “no jurisdiction whatsoever to pronounce on India’s sovereign decisions. Its pronouncements, now or in the future, will have no effect on India’s actions in connection with the projects being undertaken by India,” the Indian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Last April, New Delhi held the World Bank-brokered IWT in abeyance following an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir’s Pahalgam that killed 26 people, blaming it on Islamabad.

Pakistan rejected the claims and said any attempt to suspend its water share will be considered an “act of war,” noting the treaty could not be unilaterally suspended.

The two archrivals later engaged in four days of cross-border armed clashes in May last year before US President Donald Trump brokered a ceasefire.

The IWT divided the six rivers of the Indus Basin between the two countries. While India received the three eastern rivers — Sutlej, Beas and Ravi — Pakistan was assigned control over the three western rivers — Indus, Jhelum and Chenab.

Pakistan said India’s planned hydropower dams will cut flows on the river, which feeds 80% of its irrigated agriculture.