India rejects arbitration court’s ‘ruling’ on Kishanganga, Ratle power projects

India on Friday rejected the so-called supplemental award by the Court of Arbitration on the Kishanganga and Ratle hydropower projects in Jammu and Kashmir, saying it had never recognised the court’s authority.

India’s position “has all along been that the constitution of this so-called arbitral body is in itself a serious breach of the Indus Waters Treaty and consequently any proceedings before this forum and any award or decision taken by it are also for that reason illegal and per se void”, said the Ministry of External Affairs.

In a ruling on Thursday, the Court of Arbitration in The Hague said that India holding the treaty in abeyance “does not deprive the Court of Arbitration of competence” and can therefore continue hearing the matter. The court was considering the impact of India’s decision to suspend the treaty on the proceedings.

In April, New Delhi had held the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance following the Pahalgam terrorist attack until Pakistan “credibly and irrevocably” ends its support for cross-border terrorism.

India has not participated in the proceedings and has rejected all previous rulings of the court on the matter.

India and Pakistan signed the Indus Waters Treaty in 1960 with the World Bank as an additional signatory. The pact sought to divide the water of the Indus river and its tributaries equitably...

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