India welcomes Neutral expert’s decision on Indus waters treaty dispute

India has welcomed the decision of the Neutral Expert on the Indus Waters Treaty, which upholds and vindicates its stance regarding the Kishenganga and Ratle hydroelectric projects, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) shared on Tuesday.

In an official statement, the Ministry said, “The Neutral Expert has issued a press release on 20th January 2025 on his competence to address certain issues related to projects under the Indus Waters Treaty. India welcomes the decision given by the Neutral Expert under Paragraph 7 of Annexure F to the Indus Waters Treaty, 1960. The decision upholds and vindicates India’s stand that all seven (07) questions that were referred to the Neutral Expert, in relation to the Kishenganga and Ratle hydroelectric projects, are differences falling within his competence under the Treaty”.

The MEA emphasised India’s consistent and principled position that the Neutral Expert alone has the competence under the Treaty to resolve these differences. “Having upheld his own competence, which comports with India’s view, the Neutral Expert will now proceed to the next (merits) phase of his proceeding. This phase will culminate in a final decision on the merits of each of the seven differences”.

The Ministry reiterated India’s commitment to preserving the sanctity and integrity of the Indus Waters Treaty and stated that it would continue to participate in the Neutral Expert process to ensure the differences are resolved in a manner consistent with the Treaty’s provisions. which does not provide for parallel proceedings on the same set of issues.

The MEA added, “For this reason, India does not recognize or participate in the illegally constituted Court of Arbitration proceedings.”

The MEA also noted that the governments of India and Pakistan remain in touch regarding the modification and review of the Indus Waters Treaty under Article XII (3) of the Treaty.