ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN — The Foreign Office (FO) on Monday welcomed a key decision by the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague, which issued a “supplemental award” in the longstanding Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) dispute. The FO called on India to resume the functioning of the Treaty, which New Delhi has held in abeyance since May 2025 following a deadly attack in Indian-occupied Kashmir.
In its statement, the FO said the supplemental award — delivered by the Court of Arbitration on June 27, 2025 — affirmed the Court’s competence and its continuing responsibility to oversee the ongoing proceedings between Pakistan and India concerning the Kishenganga and Ratle hydroelectric projects.
The PCA’s press release clarified that the Indus Waters Treaty remains in force and cannot be suspended unilaterally. “The Court found that the terms of the Treaty, read in light of the Treaty’s object and purpose, do not allow either Party, acting unilaterally, to hold in abeyance or suspend an ongoing dispute settlement process,” it said, noting that such an act would “fundamentally undermine the value and efficacy of the Treaty’s compulsory third-party dispute settlement process.”
India had unilaterally announced a suspension of the IWT in April 2025 following the Pahalgam attack, which killed 26 people — an act India attributed to Pakistan without providing evidence. In response, Islamabad warned that any attempt to suspend its water share under the Treaty would be considered an “act of war”, citing the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties.
The FO hailed the Court’s decision as a vindication of Pakistan’s stance. “The award vindicates Pakistan’s position that the Indus Waters Treaty remains valid and operational, and that India has no right to take unilateral action about it,” the FO stated.
Pakistan reiterated its earlier welcome of the PCA’s issuance of the “Supplemental Award of Competence” and expressed confidence in the arbitration process. “Pakistan looks forward to receiving the court’s award on the first phase on the merits in due course following the hearing that was held in Peace Palace in The Hague in July 2024,” the government added.
Calling for de-escalation, the FO urged India to “immediately resume the normal functioning of the Indus Waters Treaty and fulfil its treaty obligations, wholly and faithfully.” The statement echoed Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s recent comments that Pakistan remains ready for meaningful dialogue with India on all outstanding matters, including water, Jammu and Kashmir, trade, and terrorism.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), however, sharply rejected the PCA’s ruling. According to Indian newspaper The Hindu, the MEA stated that India does not recognise the Court of Arbitration or its legal standing, branding the supplemental award “illegal” and “void”.
“India has never recognised the existence in law of this so-called Court of Arbitration,” the ministry asserted, claiming the very constitution of the court violated the Indus Waters Treaty. The MEA maintained that after the Pahalgam incident, India acted within its sovereign rights under international law by suspending the IWT “until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism”.
The Indian ministry also dismissed the PCA’s actions as a “charade at Pakistan’s behest.”
Despite India’s objections, the PCA firmly held that the IWT does not contain any provision allowing for unilateral suspension or abeyance by either party. “The Treaty continues in force until terminated with the mutual consent of India and Pakistan,” the PCA clarified in its release.
Legal experts note that the supplemental award strengthens Pakistan’s case and reaffirms the role of international arbitration in enforcing the provisions of the Indus Waters Treaty, signed in 1960 and considered one of the most successful water-sharing agreements globally.
With the PCA’s latest ruling, diplomatic observers are watching closely to see whether India and Pakistan can find a pathway back to negotiations and reinstate confidence in bilateral treaties amidst growing tensions in the region.
