Indus Waters Treaty: India Rejects Latest Arbitration Award as ‘Null & Void’
The Wire Staff
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New Delhi: The Union Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Saturday (May 16) rejected the latest award announced by the Court of Arbitration regarding disputes with Pakistan on the Indus Waters Treaty, calling it “null and void.”
“The illegally constituted so-called Court of Arbitration (CoA) has, on 15 May 2026, issued what it termed an award concerning maximum pondage supplemental to the award on issues of general interpretation of the Indus Waters Treaty. India categorically rejects the present so-called award, just as it has firmly rejected all prior pronouncements of the illegally constituted CoA,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a statement.
“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,” the statement added.
In August last year, India had also rejected the Hague-based Court of Arbitration’s award directing it to “let flow” the waters of the Indus, Jhelum and Chenab rivers for Pakistan’s unrestricted use, except under specifically defined circumstances, while also warning Islamabad against “anti-India rhetoric”.
Following the Pahalgam terror attack in April last year, India announced it was placing the 1960 treaty “in abeyance with immediate effect” until Pakistan “credibly and irrevocably” ends support for cross-border terrorism. Pakistan responded that the treaty contains no provision allowing unilateral suspension.
The Hague-based tribunal was established by the World Bank in 2016 at Pakistan’s request, even though India had argued for referring the matter to a Neutral Expert instead. The World Bank, which has a procedural role under the treaty, initially paused both processes but in 2022 lifted the freeze and allowed them to run simultaneously, despite India’s objections.
Two months after the Pahalgam terror attack, the CoA had issued a procedural ruling in June stating that India’s decision to hold the treaty “in abeyance” would not affect the tribunal’s jurisdiction.
Also in August last year, the CoA had ruled on how key parts of the Indus Waters Treaty should be interpreted, setting limits on India’s design and operation of hydroelectric projects on rivers allocated to Pakistan.
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