18 hours ago
- Business
- Business Recorder
Pakistan welcomes Indus Waters arbitration ruling, urges dialogue with India
Pakistan on Friday welcomed the Supplemental Award issued by the Court of Arbitration in the Indus Waters matter, affirming the Court's jurisdiction and rejecting India's stance that sought to exclude the Court's competence in favour of a Neutral Expert.
In a statement issued by the Foreign Office, Pakistan said the ruling, made public by the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague, confirmed that unilateral actions by India could not strip either the Court of Arbitration or the Neutral Expert of jurisdiction in proceedings pertaining to the Indus Waters Treaty.
'The Court has affirmed its competence in the light of recent developments,' the statement noted, adding that Pakistan looks forward to the upcoming ruling on the first phase of the case, relating to the merits of the dispute, following hearings held at the Peace Palace in The Hague in July 2024.
India says it will never restore Indus water treaty with Pakistan
Calling for renewed engagement with New Delhi, Pakistan emphasized the need to return to 'a meaningful dialogue' on all outstanding issues, including the implementation of the Indus Waters Treaty.
Reiterating Islamabad's position, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, in widely circulated remarks made on June 24, 2025, said Pakistan was 'ready to engage in a meaningful dialogue with India on all outstanding issues, including Jammu & Kashmir, water, trade and terrorism.'
The Indus Waters Treaty, signed in 1960 and brokered by the World Bank, governs the distribution and use of the Indus River and its tributaries between India and Pakistan.
The recent legal proceedings stemmed from disputes over hydroelectric projects constructed by India on rivers allocated to Pakistan under the Treaty.
