Water Resources Minister Moeen Wattoo on Thursday slammed India for attempting to "run away" from the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) in total disregard for Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) ruling earlier this week.
The minister reacted to India's External Affairs Ministry statement, saying the international Court of Arbitration lacks any legal authority to make pronouncements on the Indus Waters Treaty between India and Pakistan as New Delhi has never recognised the legitimacy of the court,.
A ruling from the Court of Arbitration last week backed Pakistan by saying that India must adhere to the Indus Waters Treaty in the design of new hydro-electric power stations on rivers that flow west into Pakistan.
Signed in 1960, the IWT awarded three westward-flowing rivers to Pakistan and three eastward-flowing rivers to India. In 2023, Pakistan approached the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague over the design of Indian hydropower projects on rivers allocated to Pakistan.
In a ruling on Monday, the PCA affirmed its jurisdiction and stated that the IWT "does not permit India to generate hydro-electric power on the Western Rivers based on what might be the ideal or best practices approach for engineering".
The court added that India must adhere "strictly" to treaty specifications and "let flow" the western rivers' waters for Pakistan's "unrestricted use". Attorney General for Pakistan Mansoor Usman said the PCA had accepted Pakistan's position.
However, Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told reporters India had "never accepted the legality, legitimacy, or competence" of the court, terming its pronouncements "without jurisdiction" and devoid of legal standing.
He said that India stood by its decision to hold the IWT in abeyance. Wattoo outright rejected Delhi's claim. The minister told a private news channel that India's position was baseless and wrong.
"Under any article of the agreement, India or Pakistan cannot terminate this agreement," he said, adding that the PCA had already dismissed similar objections from India. "India's letter seeking modification of the treaty had no legal cover."
India suspended the IWT in April following an attack in occupied Kashmir's Pahalgam that killed 26 tourists - an incident it blamed on Islamabad without evidence. Pakistan warned that any attempt to halt its water share would be an "act of war".
The PCA's supplemental award in June declared India could not hold the treaty in abeyance. India again said it did not recognise the court's authority.
Responding to the MEA spokesperson's stance, the water minister told a digital media website: "India wants to run away from this agreement (IWT). Under any article of the agreement, India or Pakistan cannot terminate this agreement."
He said India's claim was "baseless and wrong", adding that Pakistan rejected it.
"The court has already said that it has the power to decide. India had made this claim before, which the court has rejected."
He said a letter by India earlier in the year seeking modification in the treaty had no legal cover and the country could not unilaterally take a decision regarding the IWT.
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