“WATER ISSUES: THE NEW SECURITY THREAT TO PAKISTAN”

Water issues are not a social issue anymore but are emerging as a security threat. Water plays a vital role in one’s day-to-day life and the functioning of almost all of our sectors; from agriculture to industries, is dependent on water. With the increasing world population, the demands of people are also growing with not enough resources to meet them. Water is one of the resources that is reducing at an alarming rate. We can see world superpowers shifting their concerns toward water storage and purification. “Water is the new oil” and the shifting world dynamics surely promote this notion. Developed states are paving their way to attain water resources and direct access to water bodies over the world to utilize fresh water without being dependent on any other state to satisfy their water needs. This explains one of the reasons for the increased interest of the USA and China in the Indo-Pacific region. It would not be wrong to say that developed states are accepting the shortage of water as a threat to their national security and this makes us think as an underdeveloped state what is Pakistan’s stance on this?
Pakistan is an agriculture-based country that mainly relies on yearly rainfalls, rivers (Ravi, Indus, Sutlej, Chenab), dams (Mangla dam, Tarbela dam, Warsak dam, etc.) and glaciers in the up north for; irrigation, storage, and distribution of water for domestic and electricity-generating purposes. But are these resources enough to meet the requirements and demands of the population of Pakistan which is increasing at a very fast rate? Keeping in mind the present situation in Pakistan one can clearly say that these are not enough.
The climate changes have changed the yearly rainfall pattern of Pakistan affecting the crops. Unpredicted heavy rainfalls not only destroy crops but also results in floods. In addition to this, the melting of our glaciers due to global warming makes the situation worse. Even though we have dams but they are not sufficient enough to reserve the excess water to prevent flooding and most of these dams are made for irrigation purposes only. Due to excessive usage of water and increasing temperature our rivers are drying up which has a great influence on the functioning of the canal systems linked to them creating havoc for people dependent on them for domestic, agricultural, and industrial reasons.
Pakistan is a country that suffers from droughts and floods in the same year. Half of the country does not have access to clean water and the other half drowns. This shows how affected Pakistan is by the rising water issues. Being an agriculture-based state water scarcity can lead to drastic circumstances mainly affecting the already crumbling economic sector; prices of commodities related to water will increase burdening the domestic consumer and industries. Having no water to produce its food Pakistan has to import basic products for the fulfillment of the needs of its people.
To make the situation worse due improper management Pakistan has to import fuels and oil to generate electricity. Making Pakistan completely rely on imports. This allows the developed exporters to exploit the condition and to intervene in Pakistan’s national matters. The floods on the other hand destroy the infrastructure of the country, which has little to no resources to rebuild itself. This is also a burden on the country’s economy. Moreover, it damages the image of the state for being unable to counter disasters almost every year with the same consequences and leaves Pakistan in need of international financial support and aid.
All this damage not only weakens the state internally but also leads the way for rivals to take advantage of an already crumbling state. Our leaders and government have been wise enough to recognize this issue as a threat to our country and have not only spoken about it on international forums but have also strategized on a national level to cope with this threat. But the government alone with little to no cooperation from the public cannot achieve its goal of resolving the water issues. It is important to create a sense of how severe the water situation in Pakistan is and if not dealt with properly will be one of the major security threats to the state among the society. Proper advertisement, awareness campaigns, and education can play an important role in creating this sense.
To protect our country from the intervention of other states and to improve its economy our government should be able to not only identify the problem in time and come up with steps to resolve it but should also communicate it with the public and brief them about the situation. This step is necessary to have everyone on the same page and establish civil-political coordination and cooperation. Our provincial governments should join hands to resolve issues those impact the country as a whole instead of opposing each other. Water pricing should be the last resort to solve this issue as in my opinion, it would only lead to civil-political unrest making the situation worse. With all the initiatives now being taken for the construction of dams for proper storage and distribution of water and to meet the future electricity requirement of the state, proper management, public cooperation and awareness, and the unity of our political parties is our way forward.

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