India tells arbitration court Indus order holds no water

New Delhi: India on Monday rejected an "award" by the World Bank's Court of Arbitration (CoA) on the Indus Waters Treaty, referring to the court as "illegal" and saying it had no jurisdiction on the matter.NThe MEA in a statement said that the pronouncements made by the court would have no effect on India's actions, while reiterating the decision to hold Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance.

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"Today, the illegally constituted so-called Court of Arbitration (CoA) has issued what it termed as an award concerning Interim Measures and Status of the Indus Waters Treaty. This so called court was constituted by the World Bank in patent breach of the terms of the treaty and India categorically rejects its so-called award, just as it has firmly rejected all prior pronouncements by this illegally constituted body," according to MEA statement.

"India has never recognised the existence in law of this illegally-constituted and so-called Court of Arbitration, and has consistently maintained that the very establishment of this alleged arbitral body constitutes a grave violation of the Indus Waters Treaty. Accordingly, India has never appeared before this body and has refused to take any cognisance of its earlier pronouncements," the MEA noted.

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"This so-called Court of Arbitration has no jurisdiction whatsoever to pronounce on India's sovereign decisions. Its pronouncements, now or in the future, will have no effect on India's actions in connection with the projects being undertaken by India," the Ministry affirmed.

In a statement on Monday, the CoA said it had considered the present status of the treaty and India's decision to keep it in abeyance. It said that it had examined the grounds on which the treaty had been suspended, and claimed that these did not "justify suspension or termination."

"Accordingly, the Indus Waters Treaty remains fully in force, and India must observe its obligations under the treaty, including those relating to the design and operation of its hydro-electric projects on the Western Rivers," the court said.

India placed the 1960 Indus Water Treaty in abeyance following a major cross-border terror attack in Pahalgam, maintaining that cross-border terrorism and water cooperation cannot coexist.