Overview
- India’s foreign ministry said Saturday it rejects the Court of Arbitration’s May 15 supplemental award, calls the tribunal illegally constituted, and says the Indus Waters Treaty remains in abeyance.
- The ruling, not yet posted by the Permanent Court of Arbitration, concerns “maximum pondage” for India’s Kishanganga and Ratle run-of-river hydropower projects, which governs how much water can be temporarily stored behind a dam.
- Pakistan welcomed the award and said it reinforces treaty limits by requiring realistic installed capacity and power demand assumptions, proof that storage is tied to actual hydrology and operations, and fuller data sharing so compliance can be checked.
- The standoff turns on jurisdiction as India refuses to participate in the Hague case and favors a World Bank-appointed neutral expert, while the CoA held an April 28 hearing without India and continues to issue treaty interpretations.
- The outcome matters for farmers and power users in Pakistan’s downstream provinces because tighter or looser pondage at Indian projects can change short-term river flows, and the impasse also tests the World Bank-backed system for settling Indus disputes.