India has formally rejected a ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, which found that India must continue honoring the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan. The panel ruled in Pakistan’s favor, stating the treaty is fully binding, that India lacked valid grounds to suspend or terminate it, and placing restrictions on construction at India’s Ratle hydroelectric project in Jammu and Kashmir. India’s Ministry of External Affairs declared that the arbitration body has no jurisdiction over India’s sovereign decisions and that its pronouncements will have no bearing on India’s actions regarding its water infrastructure projects.
India previously moved to hold the treaty in abeyance last year after identifying Pakistani nationals among the attackers in a deadly assault on tourists in Kashmir that killed 26 people. Since the suspension, India has restricted water flows through key infrastructure like the Baglihar dam on the Chenab river, prompting protests from Islamabad, which depends heavily on the Indus river system for agriculture and views the suspension as an existential threat.
While the Hague ruling represents a significant legal victory for Pakistan, India’s outright rejection means the practical effect on water flows is likely to remain limited in the near term. The standoff highlights a deepening rupture in relations between the two nuclear-armed neighbors, with analysts stating the dispute is likely to remain unresolved for the foreseeable future.