Islamabad [Pakistan], April 30 (ANI): Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal outlined a multi-dimensional national strategy to tackle Pakistan’s worsening water crisis, warning that mismanagement and scarcity have escalated the problem into a national security concern, The Express Tribune reports.
Speaking at the “Roundtable Consultation on National Water Security” under the Uraan Pakistan initiative, Iqbal said the country faces both severe shortages and devastating floods, so effective management is as crucial as availability. He urged moving beyond rhetoric to build national consensus and a unified, science-based water security framework spanning the federation, provinces, sectors and regions. He also warned that external attempts to weaponise water have increased vulnerabilities.
Noting limited storage as a critical weakness, Iqbal said Pakistan can currently store only about 90 days’ worth of water—far below international norms. He called for expanding storage through large, medium and small dams, recharge and delay-action dams, floodwater reservoirs, hill torrent management and urban rainwater harvesting, arguing new reserves must be treated as essential to national survival rather than political debate.
On water-use efficiency, he highlighted that agriculture consumes the bulk of water but suffers low productivity due to outdated irrigation. He proposed a national water efficiency and conservation mission that would modernise irrigation (laser land levelling, drip and sprinkler systems), deploy digital irrigation technologies, recycle wastewater, and implement transparent water accounting. He tied reforms to crop selection, subsidy and pricing policies under the principle of “more value per drop.”
Iqbal also warned about unchecked groundwater depletion, calling it a “silent lifeline” at risk. The plan, he said, must be national, united, scientific and future-proof. (ANI)
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