In a monumental win for Pakistan, a panel of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) on Aug. 31 held that India must honor a nearly 70-year-old water treaty between the two nations. The court said that the treaty remains legally binding and that no party may unilaterally suspend or terminate it.

The PCA ruled that India must pause construction of the Ratle Hydro-Electric Plant, and prohibited India from raising the dam above a certain level. Additionally, the PCA required India to notify the court, the government of Pakistan, and a presiding neutral expert of any changes to the plant's construction schedule.

Finally, the PCA rejected India's decision to hold the treaty "in abeyance" after the April 2025 attack in India-administered Jammu & Kashmir, which precipitated renewed armed conflict with Pakistan. The court said that the "in abeyance" decision could only mean that India has unilaterally suspended or terminated the treaty, which was not authorized by any provision therein.

The Islamic Republic of Pakistan commenced arbitral proceedings against the Republic of India in August 2016 concerning objections over two major hydroelectric plants, the Ratle on the Chenab River and the Kishanganga on the Jhelum River. Pakistan's Request for Arbitration submitted to the PCA under the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty states:

In light of the historical, political, and geographical realities of the Indus basin, the Treaty established a unique legal regime for dividing and managing flows of water from the Indus system of rivers… The Disputes in this Request concern India's violation of the specific restrictions placed on its hydroelectric use of the Western Rivers and its attempt to design and construct plants that would impermissibly give it the ability to control and manipulate flows of water from those rivers where the Treaty contemplated that it would have no such capability.

cThe court stated that India is permitted to use the waters of the Western Rivers for hydroelectric power generation, but “that use is strictly limited and subject to various constraints on the "design and operation" of power plants.

The Indus Waters Treaty was brokered by the World Bank, and has been hailed as a successful transboundary water-sharing treaty between two hostile countries. It allocates waters of the eastern Ravi, Sutlej and Beas Rivers to India and most of the waters from the western Indus, Jhelum and Chenab rivers to Pakistan. The PCA's decision is being hailed by supporters of Pakistan’s position as an "impediment to Indian hydrohegemony."

However, India has explicitly rejected the authority of the PCA in the matter. Pakistan and India have long been at odds over the territory of Kashmir, through which the Indus flows from its Himalayan headwaters, and where its tributary the Jhelum originates. The Chenab also flows through the disputed territory.

From JURIST, Sept. 1. Used with permission.