India on Saturday rejected the latest award issued by the “illegally constituted” Court of Arbitration (CoA) under the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) of 1960, calling the decision “null and void.”
Responding to media queries, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the so-called Court of Arbitration had issued an award on May 15 concerning “maximum pondage supplemental to the award on issues of general interpretation of the Indus Waters Treaty.”
“The illegally constituted so-called Court of Arbitration has issued what it termed an award concerning maximum pondage supplemental to the award on issues of general interpretation of the Indus Waters Treaty,” Jaiswal said.
He reiterated that India does not recognise the legitimacy of the arbitration body.
“India categorically rejects the present so-called award, just as it has firmly rejected all prior pronouncements of the illegally constituted CoA. India has never recognised the establishment of this so-called CoA. Any proceeding, award, or decision issued by it is null and void,” he said.
The MEA spokesperson also stated that India’s decision to keep the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance remains unchanged.
The Indus Waters Treaty was signed between India and Pakistan on September 19, 1960, governing the sharing and use of waters of the Indus river system.
India had placed the treaty in abeyance following the Pahalgam terror attack last year, stating that the move was in line with its sovereign rights under international law until Pakistan “credibly and irrevocably” ends support for cross-border terrorism.
“Until such time that the Treaty is in abeyance, India is no longer bound to perform any of its obligations under the Treaty,” the MEA had stated earlier.
India also maintained that no arbitration body has the jurisdiction to examine the legality of decisions taken by a sovereign nation in such circumstances.
The MEA further recalled its earlier objections to the Court of Arbitration’s proceedings related to the Kishenganga and Ratle hydroelectric projects in Jammu and Kashmir.
Last year, India had rejected another “supplemental award” issued by the arbitration body concerning its competence over the projects.
“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,” the MEA had stated previously.
The government also accused Pakistan of using international forums to avoid accountability on terrorism-related issues.
“Pakistan’s resort to this fabricated arbitration mechanism is consistent with its decades-long pattern of deception and manipulation of international forums,” the MEA had said earlier.
-IANS
