Islamabad: Foreign Office Spokesperson Tahir Andrabi on the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), Andrabi said the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague had reaffirmed that the treaty remained fully enforced and binding, rejecting India’s unilateral attempt to place it in so-called abeyance.

In weekly Foreign Office briefing he said that the Hague-based court said that the treaty between the two countries remained fully in force, as India had no justification for ending or suspending the agreement. The court said a neutral expert, appointed by the World Bank, would judge by July 2027 whether the construction of hydroelectric plants in the Himalayan region was in line with the treaty.

India placed the treaty in abeyance after 26 people were killed in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir in April 2025, accusing Pakistan of involvement. Pakistan denied the allegation, while intense fighting followed in May before a US-brokered ceasefire.

In his briefing on Wednesday, the FO spokesperson said the unanimous award of the Court of Arbitration constituted an important reaffirmation of the sanctity of the IWT and the rule of international law.

The court had confirmed that India's purported decision to place the treaty in abeyance did not relieve it of its obligations under the agreement, while the treaty’s dispute-settlement mechanism remained operative, the spokesperson said.

Andrabi said an interim measure concerning the Ratle Hydro-Electric Power project further affirmed that rights and obligations under the treaty could not be altered or displaced through unilateral action.

"Pakistan welcomes these clear and authoritative pronouncements," he said, adding that they validated Islamabad's consistent position that differences concerning the IWT must be addressed strictly within the framework of the treaty and in accordance with international law.