Indus Waters Treaty ‘fully enforced’, unilateral suspension invalid: Pakistan commissioner

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Commissioner for Indus Waters Syed Muhammad Mehar Ali Shah on Sunday said the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) remains “fully enforced” and cannot be suspended or set aside unilaterally, stressing that the treaty “shall remain in force until modified or terminated by both the parties.”

Speaking to Pakistan broadcaster Geo News, Shah rejected India’s claim of placing the treaty in abeyance, saying such a concept had no standing under international law.

“The word abeyance does not exist in international law, especially the laws of treaties,” he said, adding that the term was “coined by India.”

Responding to a question on whether the treaty allowed unilateral suspension, Shah said the position was unambiguous.

“It is written clearly in paragraph four [of the treaty] that the treaty shall remain in force until modified or terminated by both parties,” he said. “That is the spirit of it. Unilaterally walking away from the treaty or non-cooperation is out of the way.”

Shah further said Pakistan’s understanding was that India itself recognized the legal limitations. “Even in general terms, treaties cannot be ended unilaterally in this way,” he said.

India announced a unilateral suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty last year following the Pahalgam attack in Indian-occupied Kashmir. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif at the time condemned the move as “unilateral, unjust, politically motivated, extremely irresponsible, and devoid of legal merit.”

On a separate application filed by Pakistan, the Court of Arbitration (CoA) in The Hague ruled that “it was not open to India to take unilateral action to suspend these proceedings.”

Pakistan has maintained that it will continue to “fully participate” in the Neutral Expert proceedings related to India’s move to place the treaty in abeyance, despite New Delhi’s decision to halt its participation.

According to a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “the Neutral Expert has ruled that India’s non-participation could not operate as a bar to the proceedings going forward.”

Subsequently, the Court of Arbitration confirmed that it would continue to conduct the proceedings under the Indus Waters Treaty framework.