India rejected the ruling issued by the
Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague
¨
India rejected the ruling
issued by the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague.
¨
The ruling related to
limits on the “maximum reservoir capacity” of Indian hydropower projects on the
Indus river system.
¨
India stated that the
tribunal was “illegally constituted.”
¨
India reiterated that the
1960 Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) has been in abeyance since the 2025 Pahalgam
terror attack.
¨
The dispute primarily
concerns two hydropower projects in Jammu and Kashmir:
¨
Kishanganga project (330
MW run-of-the-river project on a tributary of the Jhelum River)
¨
Ratle project (850 MW
hydropower project on the Chenab River)
¨
Pakistan has objected to
the design features of these projects.
¨
It argues that reservoir
capacity and spillway structures violate the Indus Waters Treaty and may affect
downstream water flow.
¨
Pakistan also claims that
India is constructing storage capacity beyond what is technically required for
power generation.
¨
India argues that running
two parallel dispute resolution mechanisms violates the treaty’s sequential
dispute settlement process.
¨
In 2016, Pakistan
approached the World Bank to constitute a Court of Arbitration (CoA).
¨
India simultaneously
requested a Neutral Expert to review technical design issues.
¨
The World Bank paused
both processes in 2016 to avoid conflicting outcomes, but lifted the pause in
2022.
¨
India participated in the
Neutral Expert process but rejected the Court of Arbitration process, calling
it invalid and parallel to treaty provisions.
¨ After the April 2025 Pahalgam terror attack, India placed the Indus Waters Treaty in a “held in abeyance” status, linking it to national security concerns.
¨ India stated that this will continue until Pakistan ends cross-border terrorism in a complete and irreversible manner.
