LAHORE: Pakistan Markazi Muslim League (PMML) President Khalid Masood Sindhu has said the decision of the Court of Arbitration has shattered India’s attempt to unilaterally suspend the Indus Waters Treaty, making it clear that the agreement remains fully operational and that India has no legal grounds to withdraw from its obligations.
According to an official statement issued by the party, Sindhu said the Indian government’s effort to use pressure and unilateral measures to undermine Pakistan’s water rights had been rejected under international law. India, he added, must understand that Pakistan would not compromise on its rivers, its water resources or its fundamental rights.
“Water is essential for life, and Pakistan will protect its legitimate water rights,” the PMML president said, warning India to abandon what he described as water aggression against Pakistan.
He termed the court’s decision a significant diplomatic and legal setback for India, saying it reaffirmed the importance of international law in resolving disputes between states.
The statement follows a ruling delivered in The Hague earlier this week. The Permanent Court of Arbitration ordered India to uphold the Indus Waters Treaty and suspend work on a hydropower project in occupied Kashmir, finding unanimously that none of the grounds advanced by New Delhi could justify suspending or terminating the accord, and declaring that the treaty remains fully in force. The court additionally imposed interim measures on the Ratle Hydroelectric Plant, barring concreting of the dam wall and power intake structure above specified levels until ninety days after the Neutral Expert’s final decision, expected in July 2027.
Signed in 1960 with World Bank facilitation, the treaty has survived repeated cycles of hostility between the two neighbours. Under its terms, the eastern rivers — Ravi, Beas and Sutlej — are allocated to India, while the western rivers — Indus, Jhelum and Chenab — are largely allocated to Pakistan. New Delhi placed the accord in abeyance in April last year, a move followed by a brief military exchange in May 2025; Islamabad described any attempt to suspend its water share as an act of war and argued the treaty contains no provision for unilateral suspension.
The Indian foreign ministry categorically rejected the order, describing the tribunal as illegally constituted and asserting that it holds no jurisdiction over India’s sovereign decisions. New Delhi has stayed out of the proceedings from the outset.
Sindhu said Pakistan welcomed any decision that protected its water rights and upheld the sanctity of international agreements. He urged the government to remain vigilant and to pursue Pakistan’s case through all available legal and diplomatic forums.
He added that India should respect the Indus Waters Treaty in letter and spirit and refrain from actions that could threaten regional stability or Pakistan’s water security.
For a country where the Indus system underpins the bulk of irrigated agriculture and much of its drinking water supply, the treaty is less a diplomatic instrument than a lifeline. With a technical determination on the disputed projects still nearly a year away, the ruling is likely to shape Islamabad’s legal posture — and the broader water-security debate in Punjab and Sindh — well into 2027.
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