India rejects court order to uphold decades-old water-sharing treaty with Pakistan

Two boys sit on the banks of the River Jhelum in Sopore, Jammu and Kashmir, India, on May 7, 2026. The Jhelum River flows through India and Pakistan under the framework of the Indus Water Treaty, with recent tensions and border conflicts bringing renewed attention to its water-sharing provisions.Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty ImagesThe Indian government has categorically rejected an arbitration ruling which said the country must uphold a decades-old water-sharing treaty with Pakistan and limit construction on a hydroelectric project in the disputed Kashmir region. The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in the Hague on Monday ruled in Pakistan's favor over the 1960 Indus Water Treaty, saying the historic pact remains fully binding and that India had no valid grounds for ending or suspending it.India, which moved to put the agreement "in abeyance" last year, said its decision remains in force. "This so-called Court of Arbitration has no jurisdiction whatsoever to pronounce on India's sovereign decisions," India's Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement on Monday."Its pronouncements, now or in the future, will have no effect on India's actions in connection with the projects b...