Pakistan welcomed a decision by the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague, which said India must “let flow” the waters of the western rivers for Pakistan’s “unrestricted use.”
"Pakistan welcomes the Award rendered by the Court of Arbitration on the issues of General Interpretation of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), announced on 8 August 2025, and publicised on the Court’s website, today," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Monday.
"In a significant finding, the Court has declared that India shall “let flow” the waters of the Western Rivers for Pakistan’s unrestricted use. In that connection, the specified exceptions for generation of hydro-electric plants must conform strictly to the requirements laid down in the Treaty, rather than to what India might consider an “ideal” or “best practices” approach."
New Delhi in April held the IWT in abeyance following an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir’s Pahalgam that killed 26, blaming it on Islamabad.
Pakistan rejected the claims and said any attempt to suspend its water share will be considered as an “act of war,” noting the treaty could not be unilaterally suspended.
The two arch-rivals later engaged in four days of cross-border armed clashes in May, before US President Donald Trump brokered a ceasefire.
The PCA said the arbitration concerns the "interpretation and application" of the IWT to "certain design elements" of the "run-of-river hydro-electric plants" that India is permitted by the treaty to construct on the tributaries of the Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab Rivers - the Western Rivers.
It added that the design and operation of run-of-river hydroelectric plants "must hew strictly to the requirements in the treaty, rather than to what India might consider an “ideal” or “best practices” approach."
Pakistan's Foreign Ministry said Islamabad remains committed to full implementation of the Indus Waters Treaty, and also expects India to "immediately resume" the normal functioning of the pact, and faithfully implement the award announced by the Court of Arbitration.
The South Asian neighbours have for long argued over hydroelectric projects on the shared Indus river and its tributaries.
Pakistan says India’s planned hydropower dams will cut flows on the river, which feeds 80 percent of its irrigated agriculture.
Army chief warning
Pakistan's army chief, Gen. Asim Munir, during his visit to the US on Saturday, warned that Islamabad will never allow India to choke the Indus River and will defend its water rights at all costs.
"We will wait for India to build a dam, and when they do so, we will destroy it," multiple Pakistani news outlets quoted him as saying at an event with the Pakistani-American community in Tampa, Florida.
"The Indus River is not the Indians’ family property. We have no shortage of resources to undo the Indian designs to stop the river."
Reacting to Munir's comments, India said it will continue to take all steps necessary to safeguard its national security.
"Our attention has been drawn to remarks reportedly made by the Pakistani Chief of Army Staff while on a visit to the United States," the External Affairs Ministry said in a statement on Monday. "Nuclear sabre-rattling is Pakistan’s stock-in-trade."
New Delhi expressed "regret" that Munir made these remarks "from the soil of a friendly third country," referring to the US, which has slapped India with 50% tariffs on its exports - the highest duty on any country along with Brazil.
Pakistan's Foreign Ministry rejected New Delhi's statement, saying the Indian narrative of an alleged "nuclear blackmail is a misleading and self-serving construct.”
