India cannot withdraw from water treaty with Pakistan, tribunal insists

An international tribunal has ordered India to observe its obligations under a 1960 treaty with Pakistan regarding the sharing of the Indus and other rivers. The tribunal, the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague, also prohibited India from carrying out works at two hydro-electric projects that could breach the treaty.

The Indian government had sought to suspend the treaty, but the tribunal ruled that it remains fully in force. According to The Hindu, India's Ministry of External Affairs rejected the tribunal's award, stating that the tribunal's establishment was a "grave violation" of the treaty.

The Indian government has placed the treaty "in abeyance" since the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, 2025, and reiterated this position after the tribunal's ruling. The Ministry of External Affairs stated that India has never recognised the tribunal's existence and has refused to take cognisance of its earlier pronouncements.

Brief written by urgent.news from Punch Nigeria, Punch, The Hindu — 3 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.