Mobeen Jafar Mir

Mr Mobeen Jafar Mir is Research Officer at the Center for International Strategic Studies (CISS), Islamabad.

The recent ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) denouncing the Indian attempt at turning water into an instrument of political coercion is a moment of both diplomatic victory as well as alarm for Pakistan. On 31 August 2026, the PCA ruled that New Delhi’s decision to place the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) ‘in abeyance’ did not suspend its legal obligations, asking India to suspend work on a hydro project in Indian Illegal Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IIOJ&K) and uphold the treaty with Pakistan.