THE HAGUE: In a major boon for Pakistan in its dispute over the ‘one-sided’ suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague has ordered India to suspend work on hydro projects and uphold the treaty.
The Hague-based court said the Indus Water Treaty between the two countries remained fully in force, as India had no justifica-tion for ending or suspending the agreement.
The court said a neutral expert, appointed by the World Bank, would judge by July 2027 whether the construction of hydroelec-tric plants in the Himalayan region was in line with the treaty. Following the killing of 26 people in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir in April 2025, India held the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan in abeyance. New Delhi accused Islamabad of orchestrating the deadly militant attack, an allegation that Paki-stan denies.
On the basis of these baseless allegations, India started the war against Pakistan in May 2025, which was the heaviest fighting to have occurred between the two neighbouring nations in decades, before a ceasefire was reached and brokered by the US.
In its ruling issued on Monday, The Hague-based court also imposed interim measures limiting construction work on India’s Ratle Hydroelectric Plant in the Kashmir region, prohibiting India from concreting the dam wall and power intake structure above certain levels until 90 days after a neutral expert’s final decision, which is expected in July 2027.
The Court of Arbitration is chaired by Prof Sean D Murphy of the United States. The other members included Prof Wouter Buytaert of Belgium, Prof Jeffrey P Minear of the United States, Judge Awn Shawkat Al-Khasawneh of Jordan, and Dr Donald Blackmore of Australia, according to a press statement issued by the court.
The court examined India’s April 2025 decision to hold the Indus Waters Treaty “in abeyance” following an attack in IIOJK, finding that such a decision could only mean India was claiming the treaty was either suspended or terminated. –Agencies
