Pakistan has secured a notable procedural win in its protracted Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) dispute with India, after a Court of Arbitration directed New Delhi to disclose operational records from two contentious hydropower projects, according to media reports.
In a 13-page Procedural Order issued under the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty, the Court of Arbitration instructed India to submit operational logbooks from the Baglihar and Kishanganga hydropower plants by February 9, 2026, or formally explain any refusal to comply.
The court also asked Pakistan to specify the exact documents it seeks by February 2, 2026. A hearing in the Second Phase on the Merits is scheduled to be held in The Hague from February 2 to 3 and will proceed irrespective of India’s participation.
A Pakistani delegation, led by the attorney general and including the Pakistan Commissioner for Indus Waters, is set to depart for The Hague on Saturday.
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Members of Pakistan’s international legal team, along with the country’s ambassador to the Netherlands, will also attend the proceedings.
Islamabad has long argued that India has exploited the treaty’s hydropower provisions by exaggerating installed capacity and projected electricity load to justify excessive water storage. Islamabad maintains that such practices threaten Pakistan’s water security and breach the treaty’s limits.
In its order, the court found that the requested operational records — commonly known as “pondage logbooks” — appear directly relevant and material to the dispute.
These records are considered critical to determining how installed capacity and anticipated load should be assessed when calculating the maximum permissible pondage under the treaty.
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Pakistan has indicated that it may seek interim measures to prevent further prejudice to its treaty rights, including steps to stop actions that could aggravate the dispute.
While the court did not rule on interim relief at this stage, it clarified that only a Court of Arbitration — and not a Neutral Expert — has the authority to grant such measures.
Independent legal experts view the ruling as an important procedural victory for Pakistan, reinforcing its position that actual hydropower operations, rather than theoretical design claims, are central to assessing compliance with the Indus Waters Treaty.
Muhammad Luqman is Associate Editor at Views News Now. He writes on wide-ranging issues including economy, South Asia, the Middle East, agriculture, economy and innovation. Luqman has worked some of the leading news organizations and won acclaim for his original and research-based works.
