ISLAMABAD (Kashmir English): In a significant development, the Court of Arbitration has supported Pakistan’s legal position on the Indus Waters Treaty after India illegally announced unilateral suspension of the treaty last month.
India requested the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) to suspend the proceedings of the case filed by Pakistan on August 19, 2016, against India’s illegal construction of water reservoirs on the western rivers.
New Delhi filed this request following its unilateral decision to hold the treaty in abeyance, which was rejected today.
In an official statement, the Government of Pakistan welcomed the Supplemental Award by the Court of Arbitration in the Indus Waters matter that has been handed down today.
Pakistan noted that the “Court has affirmed its Competence in the light of recent developments and that “unilateral action by India cannot deprive either the Court or the Neutral Expert”, in the proceedings initiated by India, of their competence to adjudicate the issues before them.
“Pakistan looks forward to receiving the Court’s Award on the First Phase on the Merits in due course following the hearing that was held in Peace Palace in The Hague in July 2024,” the statement read.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has a clear position in this regard that Pakistan is ready for meaningful talks with India on all outstanding issues, including Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, water, trade, and terrorism.
The role of the arbitration court regarding the Indus Waters Treaty is significant, and the decision-making status of the court is not affected at all by the Indian move to suspend the treaty, the court’s decision reads.
“The court will not stop its proceedings due to the unilateral decision of one of the parties to suspend the treaty and will continue to make decisions on the Indus Waters Treaty,” the court said.
Furthermore, the court said that it will carefully examine the Indus Waters Treaty. “There is no provision for unilateral suspension of the treaty anywhere in the Indus Waters Treaty.”
The Indus Waters Treaty will continue to apply without a unanimous decision of Pakistan and India to suspend it, the court decision read.
“The Court found that the terms of the Treaty, read in light of the Treaty’s object and purpose, do not allow either Party, acting unilaterally, to hold in abeyance or suspend an ongoing dispute settlement process, given that to do so would fundamentally undermine the value and efficacy of the Treaty’s compulsory third-party dispute settlement process,” the court decision maintained.
