Islamabad: Pakistan on Wednesday reaffirmed its commitment to the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) arbitration process, announcing that it will continue to fully participate in the Neutral Expert proceedings in good faith, despite India's decision to halt its participation.
According to the statement issued by the Foreign Office Spokesperson Tahir Hussain Andrabi, the Neutral Expert proceedings were initiated at India's request, with the next phase scheduled to take place in Vienna from November 17 to 21, 2025. The ministry noted that the Neutral Expert has ruled that India's non-participation could not operate as a bar to the proceedings going forward.
The Foreign Office Spokesperson also said that Pakistan had taken note of the Procedural Order issued by the Court of Arbitration in parallel with its latest decision. The order affirms that the Court will continue to conduct the arbitration in a phased manner while taking into account the Neutral Expert proceedings under Article IX and Annexure F of the IWT.
In its statement, the FO Spokesperson said Pakistan had also noted the decision of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) rendered on November 8, 2025, which offered helpful clarifications on aspects of the court's earlier award on Issues of General Interpretation of the Indus Waters Treaty, published on 8 August 2025.
The PCA explained that the Court's clarifications cover the scope of Paragraph 8(a) of Annexure D, confirming that the prohibition extends to all design components capable of artificially raising water levels beyond the Full Pondage Level. It also affirmed that these design criteria are mandatory at the planning stage of such projects and cannot be replaced by operational restraints.
In a Procedural Order issued alongside the clarification, the Court confirmed that it would continue to handle proceedings in stages, bearing in mind developments before the Neutral Expert. The parties were invited to submit written observations on the status of the Neutral Expert process and views on possible further phases of arbitration.