Tens of millions Pakistanis have no access to clean water.
Pakistan’s big — arguably, biggest — problem is water scarcity. As is predicted, the country would face acute water scarcity by 2025, and will be the most water-stressed country in South Asia within two decades. Tens of millions Pakistanis have no access to clean water. But you may not know this because we have yet to articulate a compelling narrative about the water crisis. One would think that the best way to spur discourse on water scarcity would be to focus on basic human rights: the right to access clean water, food and maintain hygiene. The UN recently reiterated that water shortages are affecting three billion people globally, and that billions face hunger. Another approach could be to emphasize that Pakistan’s water crisis is in fact a failure in water management, an example of our governments’ and bureaucracy’s inability to deliver basic services.
Also read: 10 FACTS ABOUT SANITATION IN PAKISTAN
Studies argue that Pakistan’s water scarcity can be addressed through data gathering, improved efficiency, reduced losses and improved sowing. More and better-coordinated government initiatives and subsidies, such as the drip irrigation scheme are needed in agriculture sector. The 2018 National Water Policy needs a revamp, and aggressive implementation. But the water management argument is best made by experts and has not caught the public imagination. Alternatively, water scarcity is portrayed as a trigger for cross-border conflict, as if the former were somehow less devastating than the latter. The water-equals-war drum beats particularly loudly when it comes to the Indus, which flows across Pakistan, India and China, three nuclear-armed nations poised for conflict along various fault lines.
Saba Sajid Ali
Karachi Sindh
