A dam on the Indus river system, at Reasi, J&K. File | Photo credit: PTI
India on Saturday (May 16, 2026) rejected an award purportedly issued by the Court of Arbitration (CoA) at The Hague on May 15, 2026, regarding the maximum hydroelectric load in India’s hydroelectric projects in the Indus river system, and reiterated that it does not recognize the tribunal as legitimately constituted.
“India categorically rejects the current so-called award, just as it has categorically rejected all previous pronouncements of the illegally constituted CoA,” External Affairs Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said, adding that any proceedings or decisions of the body are “null and void.” According to him, India’s decision to suspend the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) remained in force.
There is no official announcement of the award publicly available on the website of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA), which acts as the secretariat of the CoA. So the pond valuation details were not available. The last press release listed there is dated 11 May 2026, which announced the conclusion of a three-day hearing held on 28 April on Pakistan’s request for interim measures and on the status of the treaty itself.
The CoA is a five-member arbitration panel chaired by Prof. Sean D. Murphy, established in January 2023. It was established at the request of Pakistan after Islamabad contested India’s Kishenganga and Ratle hydroelectric project. India declined to participate on the grounds that the technical issues involved fell within the purview of a neutral expert appointed concurrently by the World Bank
“In its August 2025 General Interpretation Award, the CoA ruled largely in Pakistan’s favor by limiting the way India calculates allowable ponds for flowing plants and narrowing the design width available under the Treaty.
On April 28, 2026, the court concluded a three-day hearing on Pakistan’s request for interim measures and on the status of the treaty itself. A PCA press release said Pakistan was represented by Acting Co-Agent Syed Haider Shah along with counsel including Sir Daniel Bethlehem KC and Professor Philippa Webb KC, while India did not respond to an invitation to attend and did not attend.
India suspended inland navigation in April 2025 after the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians in Jammu and Kashmir.
Published – 16 May 2026 21:38 IST
