India Ordered to Uphold Pakistan Water Treaty, Curb Kashmir Dam
(Bloomberg) -- India must comply with a decades-old treaty governing river waters shared with Pakistan and limit construction on a hydropower project in the Kashmir region, an international arbitration panel ruled on Monday.
The Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague handed a victory to Islamabad as it said that the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty remains in force despite India’s decision last year to put the agreement “in abeyance.”
The ruling, which India has categorically rejected, adds another source of friction between the nuclear-armed neighbors. The two countries came close to fighting a full-blown war last year following an attack in India-administered Kashmir where tourists died.
In a statement on Monday, India reiterated that its move to suspend the treaty remains in force.
India “has consistently maintained that the very establishment of this alleged arbitral body constitutes a grave violation of the Indus Waters Treaty,” it said. “Accordingly, India has never appeared before this body and has refused to take any cognizance of its earlier pronouncements.”
“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 Indus Waters Treaty, brokered by the World Bank, governs the use of six rivers flowing through India and Pakistan and had previously survived repeated wars and periods of intense hostility between the South Asian rivals.
It largely gives India rights over three eastern rivers while Pakistan has rights over the western Indus, Jhelum and Chenab. India is allowed to use the western rivers for purposes including certain hydroelectric projects.
India put the treaty on hold after last year’s military conflict. New Delhi called the killing of mainly Indian tourists a terrorist attack and accused Pakistan of involvement — allegations denied by Islamabad.
Pakistan’s population and economy are heavily dependent on Indus waters, with nine in 10 Pakistanis living in the river basin. More than 90% of the country’s crops including wheat, rice and cotton use waters from the system — with agriculture representing about a quarter of Pakistan’s gross domestic product.
The arbitration panel rejected the grounds advanced by India for suspending or terminating the agreement, saying the country remains bound by its obligations. These include rules governing the design and operation of hydroelectric projects on rivers allocated primarily to Pakistan.
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said on X that his country “welcomes” the unanimous court ruling.
“The award vindicates Pakistan’s consistent position that a binding international treaty cannot be unilaterally suspended or set aside,” Dar said. “India must fully comply with its obligations under the treaty.”
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