New Delhi: A Hague-based International Tribunal ruled that India’s decision to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty was not legally permissible and that the 1960 pact remains fully in force. India rejected the ruling, saying the tribunal had no jurisdiction to pronounce on its sovereign decisions.The Court of Arbitration, in a unanimous award, held that India’s decision to put the 1960 treaty in abeyance following the April 2025 terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir could not be justified under the treaty or international law. It also ordered interim measures restricting construction at the Ratle hydro-electric project pending a separate decision by a Neutral Expert on whether the project complies with the treaty.India rejected the award and the interim measures order, reiterating that it does not recognise the Court of Arbitration and has never participated in its proceedings.“This so-called court was constituted by the World Bank in patent breach of the terms of the Treaty and India categorically rejects its so-called award, just as it has firmly rejected all prior pronouncements by this illegally constituted body,” the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement issued from Bishkek.Stating that it has no jurisdiction over India’s sovereign decisions, the statement said, “Its pronouncements, now or in the future, will have no effect on India’s actions in connection with the projects being undertaken by India”. India also reiterated that its decision to hold the treaty in abeyance remained in force.The ruling followed an application by Pakistan in March 2026 asking the court to determine the present status of the treaty after India announced its decision to put it in abeyance.On April 23, 2025, following the Pahalgam terror attack, India announced that the Indus Waters Treaty would be held in abeyance with immediate effect until Pakistan “credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism”.The court held that the treaty itself did not permit either India or Pakistan to unilaterally suspend or terminate its operation. Under the treaty, it would remain in force unless India and Pakistan jointly modified or terminated it through a subsequent treaty. The court said the term “abeyance” was not used in the treaty and had no technical meaning in international law.The award on the status of the treaty was issued alongside a separate order restraining concreting work at the Ratle hydro-electric plant on the Chenab, in proceedings that Pakistan began in August 2016.On October 4, 2016, India approached the World Bank to appoint a Neutral Expert to examine design and operational questions relating to the two projects.The World Bank, finding itself faced with requests for two different dispute-resolution mechanisms for the same issues, announced in December 2016 that it would “pause” both appointment processes to give India and Pakistan time to seek an alternative way of resolving the dispute.But, in March 2022, the World Bank announced that it would resume both processes. It appointed Michel Lino as the Neutral Expert and Sean Murphy as chairman of the Court of Arbitration.India has since refused to participate in the arbitration, arguing that the constitution of the Court of Arbitration was contrary to the Indus Waters Treaty and that the treaty did not permit parallel proceedings on the same set of issues. The government has said the Neutral Expert process was the treaty-consistent mechanism for resolving the differences over Kishenganga and Ratle.The court rejected India’s jurisdictional objections on July 6, 2023, unanimously holding that it was properly constituted and competent to decide the disputes submitted by Pakistan. India did not appear before the Court.Subsequently, it issued an award on the general interpretation of the Indus Waters Treaty in August 2025, followed by a decision on Pakistan’s request for clarification in November 2025 and an award concerning maximum pondage in May 2026. India has rejected these pronouncements as well.The parallel Neutral Expert proceedings concerning the Kishenganga and Ratle projects is still ongoing, with a final decision expected in July 2027.