Highway being built by the BRO passes by the confluence of the Indus and Zanskhar rivers in the Ladakh region, India. — Reuters/File
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has called on India to immediately resume the normal functioning of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), which it has held in abeyance since May, and to fully and faithfully honour its treaty obligations after the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) issued a “supplemental award” in the case.
“In a supplemental award announced on June 27 2025, the Court hearing the Pakistan-India dispute over Kishenganga and Ratle hydroelectric projects has found that its competence remains intact, and that it has a continuing responsibility to advance these proceedings in a timely, efficient, and fair manner,” the Foreign Office (FO) said in a statement.
“The Court of Arbitration decided to announce this supplemental award in the wake of India’s illegal and unilateral announcement to hold the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance,” it added.
The FO added that the award “vindicates Pakistan’s position that the Indus Waters Treaty remains valid and operational, and that India has no right to take unilateral action about it”.
Following the killing of 26 people in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir in April, India held the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan in abeyance. New Delhi accuses Islamabad of orchestrating the deadly militant attack, an allegation that Pakistan denies.
On the basis of these baseless allegations, India started the war against Pakistan last month, 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.
The nuclear-armed neighbours disagree over the use of the water from rivers that flow downstream from India into the Indus River basin in Pakistan.
The use of the water is governed by the Indus Waters Treaty, which was mediated by the World Bank and signed by the neighbours in September 1960. There is no provision in the treaty for either country to unilaterally suspend or terminate the pact, which has clear dispute resolution systems.
Earlier, Pakistan welcomed the decision by the PCA to issue a “Supplemental Award of Competence” in the Indus Waters case, reiterating that India could not unilaterally hold the treaty in abeyance.
According to the government’s statement, Pakistan welcomed the PCA’s decision and stated that the court affirmed its competence despite India’s unilateral action against the IWT.
“Pakistan looks forward to receiving the court’s award on the first phase on the merits in due course following the hearing that was held in Peace Palace in The Hague in July 2024,” the statement read.
“The high priority, at this point, is that India and Pakistan find a way back to a meaningful dialogue, including on the application of the Indus Waters Treaty,” the government added.
The ruling
The court of arbitration has issued a Supplemental Award reaffirming its jurisdiction in the ongoing arbitration initiated by Pakistan against India under the IWT.
The ruling addresses recent developments, including India’s declaration in April 2025 that the treaty would be held “in abeyance.”
The unanimous judgment, delivered on June 27, 2025, and binding on both parties without appeal, confirmed that India’s unilateral decision to place the Treaty in abeyance has no bearing on the Court’s competence to adjudicate the matter.
Arbitration proceedings between Pakistan and India under the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) formally began at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, following Pakistan’s request for the establishment of a court on August 19, 2016.
The legal process was initiated under Article IX of the Indus Waters Treaty, which provides a framework for dispute resolution between the two countries over water-related issues.
