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In an unprecedented development, the Court of Arbitration has allowed Pakistan access to classified project documents from India for ongoing arbitration. The Neutral Expert has facilitated this sharing as the court gears up to deliver its final judgment regarding water storage disputes.
New Delhi: While India has boycotted all proceedings linked with Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) at the 'illegally constituted' Court of Arbitration (CoA) since 2023 and at the Neutral Expert level since the 2025 Pahalgam attack, both have now got linked, with the Neutral Expert allowing Pakistan to share India's 'confidential' technical documents on Kishanganga and Ratle projects for parallel ongoing proceedings in CoA.
In a March 3 communication to India and Pakistan, the office of the Neutral Expert, Michel Lino, has weighed in favour of the latter's February 11 application, seeking disclosure of "certain documents submitted by India to the Neutral Expert proceedings" to the Hague-based Court of Arbitration.
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Pakistan will now be able to disclose to CoA India's 31.07.2024 data on Kishanganga project, the more recent 21.01.2025 data linked to the Ratle hydel project besides the 2015 Bathymetric survey data of Baglihar reservoir.
The Neutral Expert has held that Pakistan can 'disclose' these documents to CoA provided it also draws the attention of the court to the 'confidentiality of these documents' which, it has said, 'should be maintained in the court proceedings'.
India was given time until February 20 to reply but did not respond given its clear position on the abeyance of the treaty.
Incidentally, India has in the past objected to publication of any such document, saying that "any dilution of the requirement of confidentiality (would) aid de facto cooperation or coordination with the illegally constituted Court of Arbitration".
India has rejected CoA proceedings since 2023 and termed them 'illegal' as they were piloted by Pakistan, even as concurrent proceedings were underway at the Neutral Expert level in which India participated until the April 2025 Pahalgam attack, following which it put IWT in abeyance.
CoA in June 2025, moved by Pakistan, declared itself competent to address the dispute and held that IWT did not allow for 'unilateral' suspension of the treaty even as India boycotted its proceedings.
The Neutral Expert's decision on document sharing with CoA forum is significant as it comes ahead of the court's expected final decision/award expected in mid-May. The court is learnt to have completed oral proceedings last week, without participation from India.
The Neutral Expert has also revised the calendar for proceedings on Pakistan's request, pushing the fifth meeting to June 8-10 instead of June 5. Pakistan has pointed to indications that CoA may issue its final decision/award on the crucial subject of Pondage on or around May 15 and that must be taken into account for filing of written submissions at the Neutral Expert level.Also Read: 'Pakistan deserves ranking with Kenya & Uganda, not India!': Former Pak WC winner Ahmed Shehzad blasts Mohsin Naqvi-led PCB
The issue of Pondage is critical as it pertains to the amount of water India can hold at Ratle and Kishanganga projects. Pakistan alleges that India's HEP designs allow it to store more than permitted under run of the river system which can allow it to manipulate river flow -- a charge India strongly rejects.
Meanwhile, Pakistan continues to escalate the IWT abeyance issue at the UN Security Council, linking it to 'weaponisation of water'. On March 5 Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, Permanent Representative of Pakistan spoke at a UNSC briefing and cited CoA's 2025 award to state that IWT cannot be put in abeyance.
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Source: EconomicTimes
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