India on Saturday firmly rejected the latest award issued by the Hague-based Court of Arbitration under the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), declaring that New Delhi neither recognises the “illegally constituted” tribunal nor accepts any of its rulings as legally valid.The Ministry of External Affairs said India’s decision to keep the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance would continue to remain in force.Responding to media queries, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the so-called Court of Arbitration (CoA) had on May 15 issued what it termed an award concerning “maximum pondage” linked to an earlier ruling on the interpretation of the treaty.“India categorically rejects the present so-called award, just as it has firmly rejected all prior pronouncements of the illegally constituted CoA,” Jaiswal said.“India has never recognised the establishment of this so-called CoA. Any proceeding, award, or decision issued by it is null and void,” he added.The latest remarks come amid continuing tensions between India and Pakistan following the April 2025 Pahalgam terror attack, after which India announced that the Indus Water Treaty would be held in abeyance.Brokered by the World Bank, the treaty governs the sharing of waters of the Indus river system between the two countries. Under the agreement, Pakistan receives rights over the western rivers—Indus, Jhelum and Chenab—while India has control over the eastern rivers—Ravi, Beas and Sutlej.The treaty effectively gives Pakistan access to nearly 80 per cent of the waters of the Indus river system, while India retains around 20 per cent, along with limited usage rights on the western rivers for irrigation, power generation and other non-consumptive purposes.Just a week back, Jaiswal had asserted that the Indus Waters Treaty will remain in abeyance until Pakistan “credibly and irrevocably” ends its support for cross-border terrorism.“Our position on the Indus Waters Treaty has been consistent. It stands in abeyance in response to Pakistan’s sponsorship of cross-border terrorism. Pakistan must credibly and irrevocably abjure its support for cross-border terrorism…..Obviously, talks and terror cannot go together,” he had said.