India on Monday rejected the Everlasting Courtroom of Arbitration’s (PCA) order setting apart its determination to droop the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan, saying it had by no means recognised the existence of the “illegally constituted” court docket in The Hague.
The Indian authorities additionally rejected the court docket order on interim measures prohibiting New Delhi from constructing sure buildings of the Ratle hydroelectric venture in Jammu and Kashmir.
“India’s determination to carry the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance stays in drive,” the exterior affairs ministry mentioned in an announcement that rejected the Courtroom of Arbitration’s awards.
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India held the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance as a part of a bundle of punitive diplomatic and financial measures unveiled in April 2025 in response to the Pahalgam terror assault, which was carried out by a proxy for Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). Pakistan, which has mentioned any denial of its share of waters of cross-border rivers will likely be thought of an act of battle, approached the court docket in The Hague in March this 12 months to find out the standing of the water-sharing treaty.
The exterior affairs ministry described the “so-called Courtroom of Arbitration” as illegally constituted and mentioned: “This so-called Courtroom was constituted by the World Financial institution in patent breach of the phrases of the Treaty and India categorically rejects its so-called award, simply because it has firmly rejected all prior pronouncements by this illegally constituted physique.”
India has “by no means recognised the existence in regulation of this illegally-constituted and so-called Courtroom of Arbitration”, and has at all times mentioned the “very institution of this alleged arbitral physique constitutes a grave violation of the Indus Waters Treaty”, the assertion mentioned.
“Accordingly, India has by no means appeared earlier than this physique and has refused to take any cognisance of its earlier pronouncements,” it mentioned.
The Courtroom of Arbitration has “no jurisdiction in anyway to pronounce on India’s sovereign selections” and its “pronouncements, now or sooner or later, may have no impact on India’s actions in reference to the tasks being undertaken by India”.
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Because it suspended the treaty, the Indian aspect has stepped up work on a number of hydropower tasks in Jammu and Kashmir that Pakistan opposed underneath the provisions of the 1960 pact. Amongst these are the Ratle and Kishenganga hydropower tasks, over which Pakistan had sought the formation of a court docket of arbitration.
In an announcement, the Everlasting Courtroom of Arbitration (PCA) mentioned that the court docket thought of the which means of India’s determination to droop the treaty, “discovering that it may solely be a declare that the Indus Waters Treaty is both suspended or terminated”.
The court docket examined the potential grounds on which India can droop or terminate the treaty, together with grounds cited by New Delhi in its public statements. “In a unanimous determination, the Courtroom discovered that none of those grounds may justify suspension or termination of the Treaty. Accordingly, the Indus Waters Treaty stays absolutely in drive, and India should observe its obligations underneath the Treaty, together with these regarding the design and operation of its hydro-electric tasks on the Western Rivers,” the court docket mentioned in a press launch.
The Indus Waters Treaty, brokered by the World Financial institution, allotted the western rivers – Indus, Jhelum, Chenab – to Pakistan, and the japanese rivers – Ravi, Beas and Sutlej – to India. It additionally allowed every nation sure makes use of of the rivers allotted to the opposite.
In its order on interim measures, the court docket thought of Pakistan’s request for limiting development works on the Ratle hydropower venture pending a impartial professional’s determination on whether or not the venture’s design complies with the treaty.
“In a unanimous determination, the Courtroom determined to impose measures prohibiting India from concreting the RHEP dam wall and energy consumption construction above sure ranges till 90 days after the Impartial Skilled’s ultimate determination, which is predicted in July 2027,” the PCA press launch mentioned.
“The Courtroom additionally imposed a reporting measure regarding the RHEP Development Schedule till shortly after the Impartial Skilled’s ultimate determination,” it mentioned.
The court docket additionally declined to grant two different measures requested by Pakistan – one which India would bear the danger of getting to discontinue, modify or dismantle parts of the Ratle hydropower venture, and one other that India ought to return to “full compliance” with the treaty pending the court docket’s determination on Pakistan’s utility associated to the standing of the pact.
The court docket additional mentioned its selections will likely be revealed on PCA’s web site after finishing a course of with the 2 international locations to “determine confidential info for redaction”.
The court docket of arbitration was chaired by Sean D Murphy of the US and its different members are Wouter Buytaert of Belgium, Jeffrey P Minear of the US, Awn Shawkat Al-Khasawneh of Jordan, and Donald Blackmore of Australia.
In July 2023, the court docket dominated it was competent to take up Pakistan’s case after rejecting India’s objections to its competence.
Whereas Pakistan initially sought the appointment of a impartial professional to deal with objections to the Kishenganga and Ratle tasks in 2015, it unilaterally retracted this request in 2016 and sought a court docket of arbitration. In 2016, the World Financial institution appointed each a impartial professional and the court docket of arbitration.
India attended conferences convened by the impartial professional until the treaty was suspended in 2025. It fully stayed away from proceedings of the court docket of arbitration, which it by no means recognised.
The proceedings earlier than the impartial professional in relation to the Kishenganga and Ratle hydropower tasks are ongoing, and the newest work programme issued by the professional envisages circulation of the ultimate determination round July 16, 2027, the press launch mentioned.
The court docket mentioned that whereas India didn’t take part by making written or oral submissions throughout proceedings, it took under consideration India’s positions on the problems “to the extent they could possibly be discerned from India’s statements and conduct outdoors of those proceedings (together with Indian authorities communications to Pakistan and to the impartial professional, and public statements made by Indian officers)”.
The court docket additional famous that it seemed “extraordinarily critically” into India’s allegation that “Pakistan’s sponsorship of cross-border terrorism had impeded its utilisation of rights” underneath the Indus Waters Treaty. “Nevertheless, the Courtroom discovered that even when India’s allegation was assumed to be true, they might not set up a cloth breach of the Treaty by Pakistan,” the press launch mentioned.
The treaty “doesn’t handle terrorism or using drive and expressly signifies that it governs solely the rights and obligations of the Events with respect to using the waters of the Indus Rivers System”. The court docket mentioned it “didn’t discover proof that the alleged terrorism had impeded India’s capability to assemble its HEPs on the Western Rivers and as an alternative famous that India has constructed and is constructing many such HEPs”.
