On Friday, India rejected the Hague-based Court of Arbitration’s decision on the “abeyance” of the Indus Waters Treaty and said that the court has “no jurisdiction whatsoever to pronounce on India’s sovereign decisions”.
The Court of Arbitration had concluded that India’s decision on “abeyance” of the Treaty was not permissible under the Treaty or other applicable rules of international law. “The Court found that none of these grounds could justify suspension or termination of the Treaty. Accordingly, the Indus Waters Treaty remains fully in force, and India must observe its obligations under the Treaty, including those relating to the design and operation of its hydro-electric projects on the Western Rivers,” the court said.
Responding to the court decision, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Monday: “Today, the illegally constituted so-called Court of Arbitration (CoA) has issued what it termed as an award concerning Interim Measures and Status of the Indus Waters Treaty. This so-called Court was constituted by the World Bank in patent breach of the terms of the Treaty and India categorically rejects its so-called award, just as it has firmly rejected all prior pronouncements by this illegally constituted body.”
“India has never recognised the existence in law of this illegally-constituted and so-called CoA, and has consistently maintained that the very establishment of this alleged arbitral body constitutes a grave violation of the Indus Waters Treaty. Accordingly, India has never appeared before this body and has refused to take any cognisance of its earlier pronouncements”.
It said, “this so-called CoA 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 ... India’s decision to hold the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance remains in force”.
After the Pahalgam terrorist attack in April 2025, India decided to put the Indus Waters Treaty “in abeyance”. The decision flows directly from the Cabinet Committee on Security decision of 23 April 2025, which states that “the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 will be held in abeyance with immediate effect, until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism”. India consistently maintained that CoA was illegally constituted and never recognised its legal existence or jurisdiction.
This is not a technical legal dispute. The Indus Waters Treaty, brokered by the World Bank in 1960, survived three wars. It allocates the three western rivers – Indus, Jhelum, Chenab – to Pakistan, and three eastern rivers to India, with limited rights for India to build run-of-the-river hydro projects on the western rivers. Pakistan had objected to Kishanganga and Ratle designs and sought arbitration.
India’s position is two-fold: procedural illegality – that World Bank triggered parallel mechanisms of Neutral Expert and Court of Arbitration simultaneously against Treaty provision – and sovereign security – that cross-border terror voids good faith.
By declaring abeyance, India is doing what the Treaty does not explicitly permit – suspension. The Court says that is illegal. India says the Court itself is illegal. The result is a legal stalemate with real water consequences. Projects like Ratle and others in J&K will proceed, and Pakistan will likely approach international fora. But with India refusing jurisdiction, enforcement is virtually impossible.