Int’l court rejects India’s objections over water dispute with Pakistan

KARACHI, Pakistan (AA): The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) on Thursday rejected India’s objections to its jurisdiction over New Delhi’s dispute with arch-rival Pakistan on two key hydropower projects.

India rejected the ruling.

The PCA, according to a statement from the international forum, announced the decision in The Hague, ruling that it has the “competence” to consider matters concerning the 330-megawatt Kishanganga and the 850MW Ratle hydroelectric projects, which have long been a source of contention between the two nuclear rivals.

The PCA ruling came after a lingering legal battle between the two neighbors who, apart from water-sharing, are locked in a string of land and sea disputes, including Jammu and Kashmir.

The court is now set to begin hearing Pakistan’s objections to the designs of the two projects, which Islamabad considers breach of the Indus Water Treaty (IWT).

The two longtime rivals share the water of six rivers under the IWT, a water-sharing agreement brokered by the World Bank in 1960.

Under the agreement, the waters of the eastern rivers – Sutlej, Beas and Ravi – have been allocated to India, while the three western rivers – Indus, Jhelum and Chenab – go to Pakistan.

Pakistan accuses India of “continuously” violating the treaty by building dams on the western rivers, whereas New Delhi says Islamabad controls more water than New Delhi as a result of the treaty.

Pakistan welcomes ruling

Pakistan welcomed the ruling, terming it a “way forward” on disputes with India.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said in a statement that the IWT is a “foundational” agreement between Pakistan and India on water sharing, and Islamabad remains “fully committed to the treaty’s implementation, including its dispute settlement mechanism.”

“We hope that India would also implement the treaty in good faith,” she maintained.