For harming Pakistan one way or the other, India has been staging false flag operations every now and then and blaming Pakistan straightaway without undertaking any probe, investigation or inquiry whatsoever. In April last year, India had staged yet another false flag operation in Pahalgam in occupied Jammu and Kashmir wherein more than two dozen tourists were mercilessly massacred quite obviously by the occupying Indian security forces and Pakistan was forthwith accused for committing this without any inquiry or probe being undertaken.
The situation was further aggravated as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced unilateral suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) which was brokered by the World Bank after prolonged negotiations and signed by India and Pakistan in September 1960 in Karachi. Forthwith, Pakistan had rejected this unilateral suspension of the IWT, raised the issue at all relevant international forums , also taking the matter for adjudication by the Permanent Court of Arbitration at the Hague besides agitating the matter at the regional and international levels in bilateral deliberations
The PCA while upholding its earlier award wherein it had supported the continued validity of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) ruled few days back that
India cannot unilaterally suspend the agreement, quite obviously reaffirmed Pakistan just stand when by saying that the Treaty remained in force ,rejected arguments advanced by India that either party may withdraw or suspend it without mutual consent , the legal framework governing the sharing of the Indus river system continued to be binding on India and Pakistan. The PCA ruling as such related to long-running disputes between the two countries over hydroelectric developments on the Western rivers of the Indus system. It was worth mentioning here that Pakistan has been quite emphatically and repeatedly raising its serious concerns that Indian run-of-river hydroelectric projects could reduce downstream flows resulting in causing grave harm to its agricultural output.
In its previous award issued last year the PCA had directed that India must allow the waters of the Western rivers to flow for Pakistan ‘s unresricted use thereby reinforcing Pakistan’s interpretation of the Treaty’s water allocation provisions.
Since the PCA supplementary award favoured Pakistan by upholding its just stand on IWT ‘s unilateral suspension by India in unequivocal terms, India through its External Affairs Ministry spokesperson came out with what was expected from it. The Indian spokesperson dismissed the proceedings by what was stated by ann “illegally constituted so-called Court of Arbitration awards and decisions were “null and void” and maintained that India’s position on holding the Treaty in abeyance remained unchanged.Through this reaction, India had once again done what it had been doing in the past by rejecting and not implementing any such verdicts and observations by international forums which favoured Pakistan quite categorically .
Last year in August, the PCA had directed that India must allow the waters of the Western rivers (The Indus,Jhelum and Chenab) to flow for Pakistan’s unrestricted use and this had reinforced Pakistan’s interpretation of the Treaty’s interpretation
The Hague-based PCA had issued a binding Award regarding IWT ‘s interpretation on August 8, 2025 and observed that the awards of a court of arbitration and the decisions of a Neutral Experts were final and binding on both parties.The PCA had also ruled that the specific interpretation of hydro-elecr ic plants must conform strictly to the requirements laid down in the IWT, rather t o what India might consider an “ideal” or “best practices” approach. Pakistan had filed a petition before the PCA seeking a detailed review of the Treaty’s interpretation and application particularly regarding the design of Indian hydropower projects and their downstream impact on the Indus,Jhelum and Chenab and their tributaries. Pakistan has quite consistently been maintaining that any unilateral attempt to suspend or hold the IWT in abeyance , or to restrict the flow of water, constituted a violation and amounted to provocation Time and again, Pakistan has been asserting in clear terms that it will not compromise on i t s lawful water settlements and the PCA’s rulings have upheld Pakistan’s just stance based on principles.The IWT was binding on both the signatory countries India and Pakistan and cannot be unilaterally suspended or altered.
If India does not accept the PCA’s rulings, as it has already made it quite clear,then who is going to force New Delhi to come to its senses and sincerely honour its binding obligations ,the United Nations,the PCA, the International community at large and the World Bank ? India was already defying U N Security Council resolutions regarding granting the right of self-determination to the Kashmiri people in India’s occupied Jammu and Kashmir territory for the last 78 years. Is there no power in the world to exert due pressure on India in this regard?
The writer is contributing Columnist, based in Lahore.
