In a win for Pakistan’s principled stand, the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration on Friday ruled that no party can unilaterally suspend the Indus Waters Treaty, which New Delhi froze in April over a militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir, which it alleged was linked to Pakistan-based groups.
Islamabad welcomed the Court’s issuance of a “Supplemental Award of Competence” in the Indus Waters case as it justified its position of continuing to receive the share of water from rivers flowing downstream from the Himalayan region.
“The high priority, at this point, is that India and Pakistan find a way back to a meaningful dialogue, including on the application of the Indus Waters Treaty,” Pakistan said.
An official statement also reiterated Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s stance the country was “ready to engage in a meaningful dialogue with India on all outstanding issues, including Jammu and Kashmir, water, trade and terrorism”.
Pakistan welcomes the Supplemental Award by the Court of Arbitration in the Indus Waters matter that has been handed down today and made public on the website of the Permanent Court of Arbitration. Pakistan notes that the Court has affirmed its Competence in the light of recent…
— Government of Pakistan (@GovtofPakistan) June 27, 2025
New Delhi, on the other side dismissed the court’s decision. The Indian Ministry for External Affairs (MEA) “categorically rejected” the PCA’s supplemental award.
“India has never recognized the existence in law of this so-called Court of Arbitration, and India’s position has all along been that the constitution of this so-called arbitral body is in itself a serious breach of the Indus Waters Treaty and consequently any proceedings before this forum and any award or decision taken by it are also for that reason illegal and per se void,” the ministry said.
In a statement, the Court said it 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, given that to do so would fundamentally undermine ‘the value and efficacy of the Treaty’s compulsory third-party dispute settlement process,” the Court said.
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The Permanent Court of Arbitration is an intergovernmental organization established in by the 1899 Hague Convention on the Pacific Settlement of International Disputes. The PCA has 125 Contracting Parties and is headquartered at the Peace Palace in The Hague, the Netherlands.
“In a unanimous decision, which is binding on the Parties and without appeal, the Court found that India’s position on “abeyance” of the Treaty does not limit the competence of the Court over this dispute, which the Court previously affirmed in its Award on Competence of 6 July 2023.,” the PCA said in its verdict.
“The Court found that its competence cannot be affected by the unilateral decision of a Party taken after the initiation of the arbitral proceedings, regardless of whether India’s recent decision is characterized under international law as a suspension of the Treaty or otherwise,” the Court noted.
The Court further found that it has a “continuing responsibility to advance these proceedings in a timely, efficient, and fair manner, notwithstanding India’s position on “abeyance”.
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