IWT: India rejects ‘so-called’ arbitration award as ‘null and void’
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📌 Summary:
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India rejected the 15 May 2026 award of the Court of Arbitration (CoA) on the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) as ‘null and void’; MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal called CoA ‘illegally constituted’ on 16 May 2026
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Award concerned ‘maximum pondage’ — the supplemental issue to general interpretation of the IWT
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India holds IWT in ‘abeyance’ post-Pahalgam terror context; New Delhi has never recognised the CoA
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IWT background: signed 19 Sept 1960 after 9 years of negotiations, brokered by World Bank; 12 Articles + 8 Annexures (A-H)
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Water sharing: Eastern Rivers (Sutlej, Beas, Ravi) — unrestricted use to India; Western Rivers (Indus, Jhelum, Chenab) — to Pakistan
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India issued first-ever notice in Jan 2023 seeking ‘modification’; Sept 2024 notice sought ‘review and modification’ — signaling intent to renegotiate as treaty turns 65
🎯 UPSC Relevance: GS2 — India and its neighborhood; bilateral water disputes; treaty law; India-Pakistan relations
📝 Prelims Facts:
- IWT signed: 19 September 1960; brokered by World Bank
- Eastern Rivers (Indian use): Sutlej, Beas, Ravi
- Western Rivers (Pakistan use): Indus, Jhelum, Chenab
- 12 Articles + 8 Annexures (A to H)
- India put IWT in ‘abeyance’ in 2025; CoA award of 15 May 2026 rejected
🔑 Key Term: Court of Arbitration (CoA) under IWT — a dispute-resolution mechanism under Article IX of IWT; India rejects current CoA as ‘illegally constituted’
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