India rejected a ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration on hydroelectric projects in Jammu and Kashmir, calling the arbitration body “illegally constituted.”
The Ministry of External Affairs said New Delhi does not recognise the so-called Court of Arbitration’s authority, declaring its award on the Kishenganga and Ratle projects “null and void.”
India reiterated that its decision to keep the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance, announced after the April 2025 Pahalgam terror attack, will continue.
India Rejects Hague Arbitration Ruling On Indus Treaty Projects In J&K
Centre says ‘illegally constituted’ court’s award on Kishenganga and Ratle projects is null and void; Indus Waters Treaty remains in abeyance
Summary
India on Saturday trashed a ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague regarding certain hydroelectric projects in Jammu and Kashmir, which Pakistan had objected to under the framework of the Indus Waters Treaty.
Rejecting the ruling, New Delhi stated that its choice to keep the Indus Waters Treaty in "abeyance" is still in effect.
India has been arguing that the Court of Arbitration (CoA) was "illegally constituted" to investigate the case.
"The illegally constituted so-called Court of Arbitration (CoA) has, on May 15, issued what it termed an award concerning maximum pondage supplemental to the award on issues of general interpretation of the Indus Waters Treaty," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.
"India categorically rejects the present so-called award, just as it has firmly rejected all prior pronouncements of the illegally constituted CoA," he said.
Jaiswal said India has never recognised the establishment of this "so-called" CoA.
"Any proceeding, award, or decision issued by it is null and void. India's decision to hold the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance remains in force," he said.
The 1960 Indus Waters Treaty was placed in "abeyance" as part of India's punitive actions against Pakistan a day after the terror incident in Pahalgam on April 22, 2025. This decision was made in a dispute involving Pakistan's opposition to the Kishenganga and Ratle hydropower projects.
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