The most recent ruling from the "illegally constituted" Court of Arbitration (CoA), which was allegedly established under the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) 1960, was dismissed as "null and void" by India on Saturday.In response to media enquiries on the matter, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that the illegally constituted Court of Arbitration (CoA) had issued what it called an award concerning maximum pondage supplemental to the award on issues of general interpretation of the Indus Waters Treaty on May 15, 2026. "India categorically rejects the present so-called award, just as it has firmly rejected all prior pronouncements of the illegally constituted CoA." The creation of this so-called CoA has never been acknowledged by India.

Its decisions, awards, and proceedings are all void. He continued, "India's decision to put the Indus Waters Treaty on hold is still in effect.
On September 19, 1960, India and Pakistan signed the IWT regarding the use of the rivers in the Indus system.
"Until such time that the Treaty is in abeyance, India is no longer bound to perform any of its obligations under the Treaty." Following the horrific Pahalgam terror attack last year, India exercised its rights as a sovereign nation under international law and put the IWT in abeyance until Pakistan credibly and irreversibly renounced its support for cross-border terrorism.

The MEA had declared in June 2025 that "no Court of Arbitration, much less this illegally constituted arbitral body which has no existence in the eye of law, has the jurisdiction to examine the legality of India's actions in exercise of its rights as a sovereign."
The "so-called" Court of Arbitration's "supplemental award" on its jurisdiction over the Kishenganga and Ratle hydroelectric projects in the Indian Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir was criticised by the MEA last year.

"India has never recognised the existence in law of this so-called Court of Arbitration, and India's position has all along been that the constitution of this so-called arbitral body is in itself a serious breach of the Indus Waters Treaty and consequently any proceedings before this forum and any award or decision taken by it are also for that reason illegal and per se void," the MEA responded to the CoA's move.
Such "charades" at Pakistan's request were questioned by India, which described them as "desperate attempts" to avoid responsibility for its position as the world's center of terrorism.The MEA previously declared, "Pakistan's use of this fictitious arbitration process is consistent with its decades-long pattern of deceit and manipulation of international forums."