India, Feb. 3 -- India has hardened its stance on the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), refusing to acknowledge fresh directives issued by a Hague-based Court of Arbitration (CoA) and signalling that water diplomacy with Pakistan will remain suspended until "persistent cross-border hostility" comes to an end.

Government sources said New Delhi will not engage with the CoA, which it describes as an illegally constituted body, arguing that Pakistan is attempting to draw India into parallel legal proceedings outside the treaty's agreed dispute-resolution framework. "We do not recognise the authority of this court and therefore will not respond to its communications," a senior official said. The rejection comes after the CoA asked India to submit in...