India rejected a World Bank-constituted arbitration panel’s ruling on the Indus Waters Treaty, calling it “illegally constituted” and saying its decision to keep the pact in abeyance will remain in force. The MEA said the panel has no jurisdiction over India’s sovereign decisions and its pronouncements will have no impact on projects undertaken by New Delhi.

New Delhi: India on Monday delivered a robust and unyielding dismissal of a ruling delivered by a World Bank-constituted Court of Arbitration concerning the Indus Waters Treaty, branding the panel an "illegally constituted" body and making it unequivocally clear that New Delhi's decision to keep the water pact in abeyance "will remain in force."

Issuing a sharp diplomatic rebuke, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) denounced the tribunal's legitimacy and reaffirmed India's absolute sovereignty over its national security and infrastructure decisions in the face of persistent provocations from Islamabad.

"This so-called Court was constituted by the World Bank in patent breach of the terms of the Treaty and India categorically rejects its so-called award, just as it has firmly rejected all prior pronouncements by this illegally constituted body," the ministry stated.

Underscoring New Delhi's consistent and uncompromising legal posture, the MEA highlighted that India has entirely shunned the flawed proceedings from the outset.