Overview
- The Court of Arbitration issued a supplemental award on maximum pondage that requires India’s run‑of‑the‑river dams on the western rivers to match their design and operations to actual river flows and hydraulic conditions.
- The tribunal ordered India to share detailed technical data with Pakistan and to maintain minimum environmental flows downstream of its projects.
- Pakistan took the case through Indus Waters Treaty mechanisms and international forums, and proceedings moved ahead despite India’s limited participation and boycott claims.
- India’s declaration that the treaty is in abeyance did not stop cross‑border flows, and a small share of water from India’s eastern rivers still reaches Pakistan because of diversion and storage limits on the Indian side.
- Reports challenge Islamabad’s dire scarcity claims, citing about 10% storage of annual river flows, roughly 25% water losses in canals, and heavy wastage from outdated farm irrigation.