The Hague issues ruling in India-Pakistan dispute over Indus waters

The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague has ruled that India must suspend construction work on the Ratle hydroelectric power plant in the Jammu and Kashmir region, which Pakistan had contested.

"The court unanimously decided to impose measures against India prohibiting work on the concreting of the dam of the Ratle hydroelectric plant and the frame of the water intake above a certain level until 90 days have passed from the final decision of the independent expert commission, which is expected in July 2027," the arbitration ruling says.

India's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, responding to the publication of the ruling, stated that "this so-called court was created by the World Bank in clear violation of the Treaty [of 1960 with Pakistan on the division of the waters of the Indus River], and India resolutely rejects the so-called arbitration ruling, as it has previously rejected the statements of this illegally created body."

New Delhi emphasized that it still considers the Indus Waters Treaty to be suspended. In its ruling of August 31, the arbitration court noted that it does not consider the grounds previously stated by New Delhi for suspending the treaty to be sufficient.

The dispute over the water resources of the Indus River with its five tributaries has continued since 1947, when British India, having gained independence, was divided into India and Pakistan along religious lines. The two countries signed the water-sharing treaty in 1960 through the mediation of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. After the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir in April 2025, the Indian Foreign Ministry announced the immediate suspension of the Indus waters treaty.

Source: TASS