Islamabad: A ruling of the International Court that says that India must adhere to the Treaty of the Indo waters in the design of new hydroelectric energy stations in rivers that flow west towards Pakistan supports Islamabad’s position, a senior Pakistani official said Tuesday.
There were no immediate comments from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of India.
Under the Treaty of the 1960 Indo waters, three rivers flowed to Pakistan were granted, and India obtained three rivers that flow eastern. Pakistan fears that his Indian neighbor can drown his main water supply, with 80 percent of agriculture and hydroelectric plant depending on those three river flows.
In 2023, Pakistan presented a case to the Court of Permanent Arbitration based in The Hague on the design of Indian hydroelectric projects in rivers that were granted to Pakistan under the treaty.
The court, in its ruling that was published on its website on Monday, said it had jurisdiction over the dispute and ruled the treaty “does not allow India to generate hydroelectric energy in the Western rivers based on what could be the ideal approach or the best practices for engineering” of these projects. On the other hand, the design of these projects must adhere “strictly” to the specifications established in the treaty, the court said.
Hague Court says that Indian hydroelectric projects must strictly adhere to the treaty
Pakistan Attorney General, Mansoor Usman, said in an interview on Tuesday that, in general, the court had accepted Pakistan’s position, especially in the design issue of new hydroelectric projects.
“I am sure that it is now clear that India cannot build any of these projects in violation of the Court’s decision,” he told Reuters
The Pakistan Foreign Ministry said the Court’s ruling said that India had to “let the waters of the three rivers flow” for the unrestricted use of Pakistan. The court said that its conclusions are final and binding for both countries, according to the declaration of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
However, an Indian official said a June statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of India, who said that India has never recognized the existence of the Arbitration Court.
PM emits fresh warning
Going to a ceremony in Islamabad, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif warned of India on Tuesday against any design in the Indo River, saying that he could not snatch “or a fall” of water belonging to Pakistan in the midst of tensions about the participation of Hydel’s resources in the region.
“I want to tell the enemy today that if you threaten to sustain our water, then keep in mind that you cannot snatch a drop of Pakistan,” he said.
Posted in Dawn, August 13, 2025
