ISLAMABAD (The Thursday Times) — The Court of Arbitration in The Hague has issued its Award on the Status of the Indus Waters Treaty and its Decision on Interim Measures, finding that India’s decision to place the treaty in abeyance is not permissible and that the accord remains fully in force, according to a press release issued by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
The ministry said it had taken note of a press release issued a short time earlier by the court, and that neither the Award nor the Decision had yet been published. Publication is expected in the next week or so.
Setting out the court’s findings as they appear in that press release, the ministry said the court had concluded unanimously that “India’s decision on ‘abeyance’ of the Treaty is not permissible under the Treaty” or under other applicable rules of international law. The treaty had accordingly not been terminated and its operation had not been suspended, and India remained bound by and obliged to observe its commitments under it, including those relating to the design and operation of hydro-electric projects on the Western Rivers and to the dispute settlement arrangements attached to them.
“Pakistan welcomes this finding by the Court,” the ministry said.
On interim measures, the ministry said the court had also decided unanimously to prohibit India from concreting the dam wall and the power intake structure of the Ratle Hydro-Electric Project above certain levels, until 90 days after the Neutral Expert delivers a final decision. That decision is expected in July 2027. The court additionally imposed a reporting measure relating to the construction schedule, which runs until shortly after the Neutral Expert’s final decision.
The ministry said Pakistan welcomed both the court’s finding that interim measures were warranted and the measures it had ordered.
The government will now give careful consideration to the detail of the Award and the Decision, pending their publication, the ministry said, and to how they may best assist in finding a pathway back to engagement between the two parties under the treaty in a manner that reflects the binding legal obligations of both sides.
SOURCES
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of Pakistan, press release on the Court of Arbitration’s Award on the Status of the Indus Waters Treaty and Decision on Interim Measures, 31 August 2026.
