India says Hague tribunal lacks authority over Indus Waters Treaty
India’s Ministry of External Affairs said New Delhi does not recognize the tribunal and rejected its findings, arguing that it has no jurisdiction over what India describes as sovereign decisions.
The ministry said the ruling would not affect India’s actions concerning water infrastructure projects covered by the dispute.
In its latest decision, the Court of Arbitration found that the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty remains in force despite India’s decision to place it in abeyance.
The tribunal also imposed interim restrictions on construction at the Ratle Hydro-Electric Plant in Kashmir. Under the measures, work on parts of the dam wall and power intake structure cannot proceed beyond specified levels.
The restrictions are to remain in place until 90 days after a neutral expert appointed under the treaty’s dispute-settlement mechanism issues a separate decision, expected by July 2027.
The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague administers the proceedings and serves as the Secretariat to the Court of Arbitration constituted under the treaty.
Pakistan welcomed the interim measures and said it was reviewing the decision to determine how it could support renewed engagement between the two countries under the treaty’s legal framework.
The arbitration proceedings were initiated by Pakistan in 2016 over disagreements concerning the design of Indian hydroelectric projects on rivers governed by the agreement. The dispute has continued alongside separate proceedings before a neutral expert.
India placed the treaty in abeyance in April 2025 following an attack at a tourist site in Kashmir that killed 26 people. Indian authorities linked the decision to security concerns and identified two of the three assailants as Pakistani nationals. Pakistan denied involvement in the attack.
Signed in 1960 with World Bank involvement, the Indus Waters Treaty established a framework for sharing the Indus River system between India and Pakistan.
Under the agreement, the eastern rivers, Ravi, Beas and Sutlej, are allocated primarily to India, while Pakistan has rights over the western rivers, Indus, Jhelum and Chenab, subject to certain uses permitted to India, including hydroelectric power generation.
The treaty also provides mechanisms for resolving disputes, including proceedings before neutral experts and courts of arbitration.
Earlier, Qazinform reported that Kazakhstan and India had officially launched dual-degree educational programs between the Academy of Management of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kazakhstan and India’s National Forensic Sciences University (NFSU, Gandhinagar).
