India has officially decided not to participate in the upcoming Neutral Expert proceedings under the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), scheduled to be held from 17–21 November 2025 in Vienna, Austria.
The proceedings are being conducted under the Treaty’s dispute-resolution framework to review Pakistan’s objections concerning India’s Kishenganga and Ratle Hydroelectric Projects.
India maintains that parallel processes cannot be conducted simultaneously under the Treaty — referring to Pakistan’s initiation of a Court of Arbitration (CoA) on the same issues.
New Delhi argues that the Neutral Expert mechanism should be the only valid forum for such technical disputes, and hence has decided to boycott the Vienna hearings.
Pakistan’s Foreign Office confirmed that it will fully participate in the proceedings “in good faith,” reiterating that India’s hydropower projects violate the Treaty’s design parameters. Islamabad hopes the Neutral Expert will address its concerns under the IWT framework.
The Neutral Expert has ruled that India’s absence will not prevent the process from moving forward, and the scheduled hearings in Vienna will proceed as planned.
The Indus Waters Treaty, signed in 1960 with the World Bank’s facilitation, governs water sharing between India and Pakistan and provides mechanisms for resolving technical and legal disputes.
