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NEW DELHI: The international Court of Arbitration lacks any legal authority to make pronouncements on the Indus Waters Treaty between India and Pakistan as New Delhi has never recognized the legitimacy of the court, India’s foreign ministry said on Thursday.

A ruling from the Court of Arbitration last week backed Pakistan by saying that India must adhere to the Indus Waters Treaty in the design of new hydro-electric power stations on rivers that flow west into Pakistan.

Under the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty, three rivers that flow westwards were awarded to Pakistan, with India getting three eastern flowing rivers. Pakistan fears its neighbor India could choke its main water supply, with 80 percent of the country’s agriculture and hydro-power dependent on those three river flows.

In 2023, Pakistan brought a case to the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration over the design of Indian hydro-power projects on rivers that were awarded to Pakistan under the treaty.

The court, in a ruling on Friday that was posted on its website on Monday, said it had jurisdiction over the dispute and ruled the treaty “does not permit India to generate hydro-electric power on the Western Rivers based on what might be the ideal or best practices approach for engineering” of these projects.

Instead, the design of these projects must adhere “strictly” to the specifications laid down in the treaty, the court said.

Pakistan’s Attorney General, Mansoor Usman, said in an interview on Tuesday that, by and large, the court had accepted Pakistan’s position, especially on the design issue of the new hydropower projects.

“I am sure it is clear now that India cannot construct any of these projects in violation of the court’s decision,” he told Reuters.

Pakistan’s foreign ministry said late Monday that the court ruling said that India had to “let flow” the waters of the three rivers for Pakistan’s unrestricted use.

The court said its findings are final and binding on both countries, according to the foreign office statement.

An Indian official pointed to a June statement by India’s foreign ministry, which said that India has never recognized the existence in law of the Court of Arbitration.

Tensions between the two countries over the Indus Waters Treaty soared when India unilaterally said in April that it would hold the treaty in abeyance in response to the killing of 26 civilians in Indian-controlled Kashmir, an attack it blamed on Islamabad. Pakistan denied involvement. Conflict then erupted in May, the most serious fighting between the two countries in decades, before it ended with a ceasefire announcement by US President Donald Trump.

ISLAMABAD: Mahnoor Cheema, an 18-year-old British-Pakistani student, has made history by completing 24 A-Level subjects with top distinction to shatter multiple records.

Cheema set a world record for the highest 24 individual A-Level subjects passed with distinction, along with an Extended Project Qualification (EPQ), all undertaken through one exam, without repeating components to boost totals. She holds the second A-Level record for the highest number of A* and A grades, earning 19 top grades.

The third is a combined record, with 11 A* grades in A-Levels added to her previous 34 A* grades in General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) or O-Levels, making a total of 45 A* grades, the most awarded to any student in secondary education worldwide. Cheema’s fourth combined record is for the highest total of individual subjects passed with distinction: 58 in total, comprising 24 A-Levels and 34 GCSEs.

Born to Barrister Usman Cheema and Tayyaba Cheema who hail from Lahore, Cheema moved to the UK with her parents in 2006 when they pursued higher education at Lincoln’s Inn and SOAS respectively. The 18-year-old, who switched to homeschooling for her final year after having attended two different schools in London, credited her parents for all her achievements.

“I say more than mine, this is my parents’ achievement, entirely. It is a huge step that you leave your country, your family behind to come to another country to establish yourself just because your children may get a better future and a chance to pursue better education,” she said in an interview on Thursday.

“It’s the biggest sacrifice anyone could make, so I am very, very thankful to my parents.”

The 18-year-old, who regularly takes part in extracurricular activities and volunteers at a hospital once a week, has got an admission at the prestigious Oxford University.

“My place in Oxford [University] is confirmed. I am joining Oxford in October to study medicine,” she said, describing it as a childhood dream come true.

“It has been my childhood dream, I had never pictured any other university for myself.”

In 2023, Cheema had passed 34 GCSE subjects, including a record 17 with A* grades in Year 10 and 34 A* grades overall. The accomplishments set her 5th and 6th world records.

Asked about her daughter’s achievements, Cheema’s father said he had always described her as the “daughter of the Pakistani nation,” congratulating people in his home country.

“My daughter has doubled the Aug. 14 celebrations for the entire nation,” he said.