India rejects ruling on water-sharing treaty with Pakistan by international court

India must uphold a water-sharing treaty with ⁠Pakistan it suspended amid bilateral tensions and must limit work on a hydroelectric plant it is building in the Kashmir region, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague said on Monday.

India in April last year suspended the treaty ‌that ensures water supply to 80 per cent of Pakistani farms, after India identified as Pakistani two of three assailants in an attack that killed 26 people at a tourist destination in Kashmir that month.

Islamabad denied any role in the attack and took legal action after India last year also began work to boost reservoir holding capacity at two hydroelectric projects ⁠in the Kashmir region.

This was seen as a first tangible step by India to operate outside agreements ‌covered by the Indus Waters Treaty between the two countries, which both have honoured since 1960 despite three wars and several other conflicts between them.

The ‌Permanent Court of Arbitration said the Indus Water Treaty remained fully in force, ⁠as India had ⁠no justification for ending or suspending the agreement.

“India must observe its obligations under the Treaty, including those relating to the ‌design and operation of its hydroelectric projects on the Western Rivers,” the intergovernmental court said.