The tribunal’s ruling deepens tensions over a treaty that has governed the shared Indus river system despite decades of conflict between the two neighbours.
India has rejected a ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ordering it to uphold the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan, saying the tribunal has no jurisdiction over India’s sovereign decisions.
The Indian Ministry of External Affairs said the country does not recognise the court and “categorically” rejected Monday’s verdict, which found that the treaty remains fully binding and that India had no justification for ending or suspending it.
“This so-called Court of Arbitration has no jurisdiction whatsoever to pronounce on India’s sovereign decisions,” the ministry said in a statement.
“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 suspended the treaty in April last year after identifying two of three assailants as Pakistani in an attack that killed 26 people at a Kashmir tourist destination. Pakistan denied any involvement in the attack.
The dispute has put the decades-long conflict over Kashmir at the centre of the breakdown of the historic water agreement, which had survived three wars but has now reached a critical point. The river systems covered by the 1960 pact supply 80 percent of Pakistan’s agricultural land.
The tribunal also ordered India to restrict construction at the Ratle Hydro-Electric Plant in Kashmir, including a prohibition on work on the dam wall and power intake structure above certain levels.
The restrictions are to remain in place until 90 days after a World Bank-appointed neutral expert delivers a decision, which is expected by July 2027.
India is officially a member of the court.
Pakistan welcomed the tribunal’s interim measures, saying its government was carefully considering the details of the decision to determine how it could best assist in finding a pathway back to engagement under the treaty’s binding legal obligations.
Islamabad launched the legal action after India began work last year to increase reservoir holding capacity at two hydroelectric projects in the Kashmir region. Pakistan regarded the expansion as the first tangible step by India towards operating outside the agreements covered by the treaty.
