India has rejected a ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague that requires it to uphold the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan, asserting that the court has no jurisdiction over the matter.
India suspended the treaty last April after determining that two of the three attackers in a strike that killed 26 people at a tourist spot in Kashmir were Pakistani nationals. Pakistan has denied any involvement in the attack.
The tensions have put the decades-long Kashmir conflict at the center of the collapse of the historic water-sharing agreement, pushing a framework that had survived three wars to its limits. Under the 1960 agreement, the shared river system supplies water to 80% of Pakistan's agricultural land.
The international court's ruling, issued on Monday, affirmed that the treaty remains in full force and that India has no valid reason to terminate or suspend it.
The court ordered India to restrict construction at the Ratle hydroelectric plant in Kashmir, prohibiting the building of dam walls and water-diversion structures beyond certain levels. These restrictions will remain in place until 90 days after a neutral expert appointed by the World Bank makes a decision, expected before July 2027.
India's Ministry of External Affairs, however, stated that India does not recognize the court and "categorically rejects" the ruling. India is officially a member of the court.
"This so-called arbitral tribunal has no jurisdiction to adjudicate on India's sovereign decisions," the ministry said in a statement. "Its rulings, present or future, will not affect India's actions regarding the projects it is undertaking."
Pakistan welcomed the court's interim measures and said it is closely reviewing the details of the decision to determine the best way to return to dialogue under the treaty's binding legal obligations.
Islamabad filed the case after India began work to increase water storage capacity at two hydropower projects in Kashmir last year. Pakistan sees the expansion as India's first concrete step to operate outside the treaty's agreements.
