Int'l Court of Arbitration orders India to share logbooks of dam projects

Pakistan has scored a significant success against India in the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) dispute, as the International Court of Arbitration has directed New Delhi to submit operational records from two contested hydropower projects on River Chenab, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

The court has also ruled that the next hearing can be held without India’s participation.

The Court of Arbitration issued a 13-page procedural order requiring India to provide operational logbooks from the Baglihar and Kishanganga hydroelectric plants by February 9, 2026. India must either comply or formally explain any refusal, the court remarked.

Pakistan, in turn, must specify the exact documents it seeks by February 2, 2026.

A hearing for the second phase on the merits is scheduled in The Hague from February 2 to 3, regardless of India’s participation.

“If India does not provide the details, the court can order Pakistan to bring that information before the court,” the court said.

It should be mentioned here that Pakistan has taken these documents to the Neutral Expert Forum, but as per its rules, these documents cannot be shared anywhere else.

India has been constantly trying to escape the proceedings by not participating in the International Court of Arbitration proceedings.

The proceedings will pick up pace after these documents come to light in the arbitration court.

The court has ordered India to present the logbooks of the dam's pondage. “India should in any case present the logbooks by February 9 and also give its explanation,” the court ruled.

The Pakistani delegation is fully prepared for the next hearing. Attorney General Mansoor Usman Awan and Pakistani Indus Waters Commissioner Mehr Ali Shah and others will travel to the Netherlands today for the hearing.

In June last year, Pakistan had welcomed the decision by the court in The Hague to issue a “Supplemental Award of Competence” in the Indus Waters case, stating that India cannot unilaterally hold the treaty in abeyance.

Pakistan had stated that the court affirmed its competence despite India’s unilateral action against the IWT.

India in April held the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance following the attack in Occupied Kashmir’s Pahalgam.

Pakistan termed any attempt to suspend its water share an “act of war”, noting the IWT had no provision for unilateral suspension. It later said it was considering court action, citing a violation of the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties.

The court found that the treaty was not open to India to unilaterally suspend the IWT or hold it in abeyance. “The court first considered the terms of the Treaty (IWT), which do not provide for the unilateral ‘abeyance’ or ‘suspension’ of the Treaty; rather, according to its terms, the Treaty continues in force until terminated with the mutual consent of India and Pakistan.”

“The court found that the terms of the Treaty, read in light of the Treaty’s object and purpose, do not allow either party, acting unilaterally, to hold in abeyance or suspend an ongoing dispute settlement process, given that to do so would fundamentally undermine ‘the value and efficacy of the Treaty’s compulsory third-party dispute settlement process.”

Reporter Awais Kiyani