An international tribunal has ruled that India must continue to observe its obligations under the 1960 Indus Water Treaty with Pakistan, rejecting New Delhi’s attempt to suspend the agreement. The Permanent Court of Arbitration, based in The Hague, issued the decision on Monday, also ordering India to halt certain works on two hydroelectric projects that could violate the treaty’s provisions.
The Indus Water Treaty governs the use and management of water from six rivers originating in India and flowing into Pakistan as part of the Indus basin, a vital resource for hundreds of millions of people in both countries. The rivers traverse the disputed Kashmir region, which both India and Pakistan claim in full, making the treaty a sensitive and critical component of bilateral relations.
In May 2025, India announced it was suspending participation in the treaty following accusations that Pakistan supported a deadly attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir. Pakistan denied the allegations. The tribunal’s ruling declared that India had no legal grounds to suspend or terminate the treaty, emphasizing that the agreement remains fully in force.
India’s government rejected the tribunal’s ruling, with the foreign ministry describing the court as “illegally constituted” and stating that New Delhi’s decision to place the treaty in abeyance remains unchanged. Meanwhile, Pakistan welcomed the decision, viewing it as a validation of its position that the treaty cannot be unilaterally suspended. Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Ishaq Dar, affirmed the country’s commitment to safeguarding its treaty rights and welcomed the interim order requiring India to pause work on a dam wall and provide regular updates until an expert’s final decision, expected next year.
India’s Water Minister C.R. Patil had previously vowed that “not a single drop of water” would flow to Pakistan, underscoring New Delhi’s stance amid heightened tensions. Pakistan has accused India of attempting to “weaponize” the shared water resources and has warned that any disruption to the river flows would be treated as an act of war.
The tribunal’s unanimous decision emphasized that the grounds presented by India for suspending the treaty were unfounded. It stressed that India’s development of hydroelectric projects on the western rivers must comply with the treaty’s conditions.
Experts note that water management remains a potential flashpoint in the region, especially as climate change and population growth put increasing pressure on agricultural sectors crucial to both economies. Until India’s suspension, the treaty had served as a rare channel of cooperation between the two historically rival nations, highlighting the challenges in maintaining stable relations amid broader geopolitical tensions.