India rejects jurisdiction of international court on water treaty

NEW DELHI: Pakistan has welcomed an international court's ruling interpreting design criteria for new run-of-river hydropower projects on the Western Rivers (Chenab, Jhelum and Indus), to be built by India, saying it vindicates its position on the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), which India put in abeyance after the Pahalgam attack.

India, however, has never recognised the Permanent Court of Arbitration, which reportedly ruled that India must "let flow" the waters of the Western Rivers for Pakistan's unrestricted use. India has instead focused on the neutral expert mechanism.



"The specified exceptions for generation of hydro-electric plants must conform strictly to the requirements laid down in the treaty, rather than to what India might consider an 'ideal' or 'best practices' approach," Pakistan's foreign office said Monday.

While India's official response is expected Wednesday, sources recalled it had earlier notified modification of IWT amid prolonged disputes over Kishanganga and Ratle projects in J&K. India never accepted World Bank's decision to simultaneously activate both neutral expert mechanism and, at Pakistan's insistence, Court of Arbitration on the same issues - the reason it sought reconsideration of the treaty's dispute resolution process.

In Oct 2022, World Bank appointed both a neutral expert and a Court of Arbitration despite acknowledging India's concerns that concurrent proceedings posed practical and legal challenges.

Following Monday's ruling, Pakistan reiterated its commitment to implementing IWT and urged India to resume functioning of the same. India maintains IWT will remain in abeyance until Pakistan takes action against cross-border terrorism.