Pakistan, Sept. 3 -- The Permanent Court of Arbitration has rejected the legal foundation of India's unilateral decision to place the Indus Waters Treaty in "abeyance", confirming that the Treaty remains in force and that India continues to be bound by it. The ruling is significant because it answers a question that India appears to have tried to avoid: can a state simply declare a binding international treaty suspended because political, security or strategic circumstances have changed? The answer, in this case, is no.

India's use of the word "abeyance" was itself revealing. Where does the Indus Waters Treaty provide such a power? It does not. The Treaty contains mechanisms for its implementation, dispute settlement and modification, bu...