2 min readNew DelhiMay 16, 2026 09:28 PM IST
India on Saturday rejected the “so-called award” issued on May 15 by the “illegally constituted so-called” Court of Arbitration (CoA) regarding disputes with Pakistan over the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT).
Responding to media queries, Ministry of External Affairs official spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said: “The illegally constituted so-called Court of Arbitration (CoA) has, on 15 May, 2026, issued what it termed an award concerning maximum pondage supplemental to the award on issues of general interpretation of the Indus Waters Treaty.”
“India categorically rejects the present so-called award, just as it has firmly rejected all prior pronouncements of the illegally constituted CoA,” Jaiswal said.
Our response to media queries on matters pertaining to the illegally constituted so-called Court of Arbitration ⬇️
🔗 https://t.co/rTnEGIO10K pic.twitter.com/EfGKmj1kA3
— Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia) May 16, 2026
He said India has never recognised the establishment of this “so-called” CoA. “Any proceeding, award, or decision issued by it is null and void. India’s decision to hold the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance remains in force,” he said.
The IWT was signed on September 19, 1960 after nine years of negotiations between India and Pakistan. The treaty has 12 Articles and 8 Annexures (from A to H). As per the provisions of the treaty, all the water of “Eastern Rivers”— Sutlej, Beas and Ravi — shall be available for “unrestricted use” of India. Pakistan shall receive water from “Western Rivers”— Indus, Jhelum and Chenab.
In January 2023, India issued a notice to Pakistan seeking a “modification” of the treaty. This was the first such notice in the more than six decades of the IWT’s existence.
India upped the ante in September 2024 by issuing another formal notice to Islamabad, this time seeking the “review and modification” of the IWT. The word “review”, according to experts, effectively signals New Delhi’s intent to revoke and renegotiate the treaty, which will turn 65 this year. India decided to keep the IWT in abeyance after the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, in which terrorists killed 26 people and injured another 10.
