India Says Indus Waters Treaty Remains in Abeyance Over Pakistan’s Support for Terrorism
New Delhi — India reiterated that the Indus Waters Treaty will remain in abeyance until Pakistan completely stops cross-border terrorism, rejecting Islamabad’s criticism of two river projects.
The Ministry of External Affairs responded after Pakistan accused India of seeking to “weaponise water” by advancing the Chenab-Beas Link Tunnel Project and plans to flush silt from the Salal Dam reservoir.
“We have suspended the Indus Waters Treaty and kept it in abeyance until Pakistan completely stops cross-border terrorism,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said during a weekly media briefing in New Delhi.
Asked about Pakistan’s comments on the Swiss ambassador’s visit to Jammu and Kashmir, Jaiswal said, “The Swiss Ambassador visited Jammu and Kashmir and held several meetings there. Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India, and the Swiss Ambassador, or any other ambassador, is free to visit.”
India last month rejected an award issued by what it described as an “illegally constituted” Court of Arbitration under the Indus Waters Treaty, calling it “null and void.”
“The illegally constituted so-called Court of Arbitration (CoA) has, on 15 May 2026, issued what it termed an award concerning maximum pondage supplemental to the award on issues of general interpretation of the Indus Waters Treaty,” the MEA said in response to media queries at the time.
“India categorically rejects the present so-called award, just as it has firmly rejected all prior pronouncements of the illegally constituted CoA. India has never recognised the establishment of this so-called CoA. Any proceeding, award, or decision issued by it is null and void. India’s decision to hold the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance remains in force,” it added.
The Indus Waters Treaty was signed by India and Pakistan on Sept. 19, 1960, governing the use of waters from the Indus river system.
India placed the treaty in abeyance after last year’s Pahalgam terror attack, saying the move would remain in effect until Pakistan “credibly and irrevocably” ended its support for cross-border terrorism.
“Until such time that the Treaty is in abeyance, India is no longer bound to perform any of its obligations under the Treaty. No Court of Arbitration, much less this illegally constituted arbitral body which has no existence in the eye of law, has the jurisdiction to examine the legality of India’s actions in exercise of its rights as a sovereign,” the MEA said in June 2025.
Last year, India also criticized the same arbitration body for issuing what it called a “supplemental award” on its competence concerning the Kishenganga and Ratle hydroelectric projects in Jammu and Kashmir.
“India has never recognised 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 MEA said then.
India has described Pakistan’s use of the arbitration mechanism as part of a broader effort to avoid accountability for terrorism.
“Pakistan’s resort to this fabricated arbitration mechanism is consistent with its decades-long pattern of deception and manipulation of international forums,” the MEA said earlier. (Source: IANS)
