Arbitration Panel Orders India to Uphold Indus Waters Treaty

An international arbitration panel has ordered India to uphold its obligations under the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan and has imposed restrictions on Indian construction at two hydroelectric projects in the disputed Kashmir region. The ruling, issued on Monday, August 31, 2026, by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, comes after India sought to suspend the treaty, which governs the sharing of water from six rivers that are vital to hundreds of millions of people in both countries. The court unanimously found that India had no legal grounds to suspend or terminate the treaty.