India insists business as usual after violating water treaty with Pakistan

An international arbitration panel in The Hague unanimously ruled that India cannot unilaterally suspend the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan, and temporarily restricted construction on India's Ratle hydroelectric plant in Kashmir. The tribunal found the treaty remains fully in force, that sovereignty claims don't override treaty obligations, and that even India's terrorism allegations against Pakistan wouldn't legally justify scrapping a water-sharing pact.

India rejected the ruling outright, with its Ministry of External Affairs saying the court has 'no jurisdiction whatsoever' and insisting its suspension of the treaty stands regardless. Pakistan's water commissioner welcomed the ruling's clarity while noting it didn't validate India's terrorism claims one way or the other, just ruled them legally irrelevant to the treaty question.

India cannot pour concrete above certain levels on the Ratle dam until 90 days after a separate neutral-expert review, expected around July 2027. Both countries remain bound to the same 1960 framework, with Pakistan's core claims still pending and no ordinary appeal available once a final award is issued.

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