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On 31 August 2026 the Court of Arbitration hearing the Indus Waters dispute at The Hague issued two decisions holding that the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty remains fully in force and that India continues to be bound by it.
The Court held that the Treaty contains no provision for unilateral suspension or termination, and that India's April 2025 decision to hold it in abeyance cannot suspend its operation.
It also imposed interim measures on the Ratle Hydroelectric Plant on the Chenab, directing India to refrain for now from concreting the dam wall and power-intake structure above specified levels.
India rejected the award outright, saying the Court was constituted by the World Bank in breach of the Treaty, has no jurisdiction over India's sovereign decisions, and that its pronouncements are null and void.
The restrictions are to run until 90 days after the Neutral Expert's final decision on the Kishenganga and Ratle projects, expected around July 2027.
A 'question' is handled bilaterally by the Permanent Indus Commission, the standing body of one Commissioner from each country that is the Treaty's first port of call. If it cannot be settled there it may become a 'difference', which goes to a Neutral Expert appointed by the World Bank to decide technical points listed in the Treaty. Only if a matter falls outside the Neutral Expert's competence, or he declines it, does it become a 'dispute' fit for a Court of Arbitration constituted under Annexure G. The present impasse exists because both tracks were running at once: Pakistan invoked the Court of Arbitration while India had already taken the Kishenganga and Ratle questions to the Neutral Expert, and India argues the Treaty does not permit two forums to hear the same questions in parallel.
Simple Analogy: It is designed as a ladder with three rungs, and the fight is over whether Pakistan was entitled to jump to the top rung while India was still standing on the middle one.
Indus Waters Treaty signed at Karachi by Nehru and Ayub Khan, with the World Bank as broker and signatory
The World Bank appoints Michel Lino as Neutral Expert and simultaneously allows a Court of Arbitration to be constituted, activating both tracks at once
The Court of Arbitration unanimously rejects India's objections and rules that it is competent to hear Pakistan's claims
The Neutral Expert holds that all seven questions referred to him on the Kishenganga and Ratle projects fall within his competence, a decision India welcomed as vindicating its position
After the Pahalgam terror attack, India announces that the Treaty will be held in abeyance with immediate effect until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably ends support for cross-border terrorism
The Court of Arbitration issues a Supplemental Award on competence, holding that India's abeyance announcement does not limit its competence
The Court issues its Award on issues of general interpretation of the Treaty
The Court issues a further supplemental award concerning maximum pondage
The Court issues two decisions: the Treaty remains fully in force and cannot be unilaterally suspended, and interim construction limits are placed on the Ratle project
Established by the 1899 Hague Convention for the Pacific Settlement of International Disputes and revised by the 1907 Convention; it is not a standing court of judges but an institution that administers arbitrations, and here it acts as Registry for the Indus Court of Arbitration. India has been a contracting party since ratifying the 1899 Convention on 29 July 1950.
An ad hoc tribunal constituted under Annexure G of the Treaty to decide 'disputes'; India has never participated in its proceedings and challenges its very constitution
Appointed by the World Bank under Article IX and Annexure F to decide technical 'differences'; Michel Lino was appointed in October 2022 and his final decision on the Kishenganga and Ratle projects is expected around July 2027
The standing bilateral body of one Commissioner for Indus Waters from each country, the Treaty's first-level mechanism for questions and for exchange of data
GS Paper 2 > India and its neighbourhood; Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements; Important International institutions
General Awareness > Current Affairs and International Organisations
Current Affairs > India-Pakistan relations
The status India announced for the Treaty in April 2025, meaning it would not act on its obligations; the Court held the Treaty contains no such category and that operation cannot be suspended this way
A hydroelectric plant that generates from the natural flow with little storage, the category of project India is permitted on the western rivers subject to design conditions
The limited live storage a run-of-the-river plant may hold to smooth daily fluctuations in flow, capped by the Treaty and itself the subject of a 2026 supplemental award
Provisional orders a tribunal issues to preserve the position of the parties while proceedings continue, here restricting concreting work at Ratle