Imran Ali Brohi
While Pakistan’s financial instability is getting undivided attention, the water crisis, its most pressing catastrophe, is being ignored by media outlets. The media is rife with stories concerning Pakistan’s financial crisis. Nevertheless, the current fiscal and melting economy will soon be stabilized after IMF releases an amount worth $900m. This chunk of money will drive the country out of dire straits and let investors gain confidence in investing in Pakistan. Sorry to say, switch on the television, and 99 percent of talk shows will be focused on politics, who said what to whom. This needs to change. Needless to say, Pakistan is facing an acute water crisis for decades. The chronic water paucity is a stark reminder issue that can lead to severe ramifications. According to various reports, the country is increasingly moving from being classified as a water-stressed to water-scarce and with its annual availability falling below 1,000 cubic meters per person. The factors which lead to terrible water scarcity are, overuse and unnecessary use of water, increasing demand, pollution, poor management of irrigation system, lack of dams to reserve the outflowing water, lack of proper infrastructure, and above all changes in the weather patterns due to global warming. These are the key stressors that drastically affect the availability of fresh water in the country. Water scarcity is a gargantuan problem. Indus river, the lifeline for 300 million people in Pakistan, is being negatively impacted by rising temperatures, changes in weather patterns, reduced flows, habitual destruction, and pollution. According to a report published by the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics(PIDE) every year more than 80 percent of inhabitants of Pakistan face severe water shortage for at least one month. Another horrific statement is that Pakistan is ranked 14 out of 17 countries designated as extremely high water-risks nations. More, water is a crucial component to flourish in nature. Be it mankind, plants, animals, and insects all need water to survive. Without water, there will be no life on earth. Above all, the increasing water shortage severely impacts the agriculture sector and its production rate. Agriculture is the largest consumer of water; 97% of Pakistan’s water is used by this sector. Agriculture which contributes up to 23% of the country’s economy is being put at high risk due to the water crisis. Besides water depletion and drought, there are other issues like water-logging and salinity affecting Pakistan’s crops which are responsible for 60 percent of the agriculture sector’s contribution to GDP. Water paucity may cause in the coming years a severe shortage of food. An estimated shortage of around 70 million tons of food is expected by 2025. Concluding, Pakistan is experiencing devastating environmental issues such as air pollution, deforestation, climate change, and the most serious water scarcity. Conversely, climate change perhaps is the cause of all environmental issues. But something is also causing climate change. The answer is quite simple human interference that is resulting in destroying the planet. The masses are literally tearing at each other. There is no water even to drink, and let alone shower. Life has become a hellfire for the masses. The water crisis and its supervision should be prioritized to the highest degree. Pakistan should impose a water emergency and engage at International and national levels to solve its crisis before it is too late.
