New Delhi: India on Friday “categorically rejected” a “supplemental award” issued by the World Bank-appointed Court of Arbitration regarding its competence to hear disputes related to the Kishenganga and Ratle hydropower projects in Jammu and Kashmir. These projects are at the center of a long-standing disagreement between India and Pakistan under the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) of 1960, which India placed in abeyance two months ago following the Pahalgam terror attack.
In a strongly worded statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said: “Today, the illegal Court of Arbitration, purportedly constituted under the Indus Waters Treaty 1960, albeit in brazen violation of it, has issued what it characterizes as a ‘supplemental award’ on its competence concerning the Kishenganga and Ratle hydroelectric projects in the Indian Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.”
The MEA further added: “This latest charade at Pakistan’s behest is yet another desperate attempt by it to escape accountability for its role as the global epicenter of terrorism. Pakistan’s resort to this fabricated arbitration mechanism is consistent with its decades-long pattern of deception and manipulation of international forums.”
Reiterating India’s long-standing position, the MEA stated: “India has never recognised the existence in law of this so-called Court of Arbitration. India’s position has always been that the constitution of this so-called arbitral body is itself a serious breach of the Indus Waters Treaty. Consequently, any proceedings before this forum-and any award or decision issued by it-are illegal and per se void.”
The ministry also referenced the recent terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, stating: “Following the Pahalgam terrorist attack, India has, in exercise of its rights as a sovereign nation under international law, placed the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance, until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism. Until such time, India is no longer bound to perform any of its obligations under the Treaty.”
Concluding its statement, the MEA said: “No Court of Arbitration-much less this illegally constituted arbitral body, which has no existence in the eyes of law-has the jurisdiction to examine the legality of India’s actions taken in the exercise of its sovereign rights.”
