Pakistan urges urgent water reforms as India tensions escalate, climate risks mount
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan must overhaul its water management system 'on a war footing,' Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said on Tuesday, as the country grapples with intensifying climate threats and renewed tensions with neighboring India over transboundary river flows.
Hostility between nuclear-armed neighbors Pakistan and India is high after they struck a ceasefire on May 10 following their most intense military confrontation in decades. The latest escalation, in which the two countries' militaries traded missile, drones and artillery fire, was sparked after India accused Pakistan of supporting militants who attacked dozens of tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir on April 22, killing 26. Islamabad denies involvement.
Following the attack, Delhi unilaterally 'put in abeyance' the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960, which governs the usage of the Indus river system. The accord has not been revived despite the rivals agreeing on a ceasefire on May 10.
Delivering the federal budget speech for fiscal year 2025–26, the finance minister said India's decision to suspend the decades-old water sharing mechanism had added urgency to the longstanding issue of water security.
'In recent days, following the Pakistan-India war, India has threatened to block the waters meant for Pakistan. India is trying to use water as a weapon. I want to make it clear that water is vital to Pakistan's survival and no stoppage in this regard will be tolerated,' Aurangzeb told parliament during the budget speech.
'At the same time, it is essential that we expand our water reservoirs on a war footing. The government, despite its limited resources, will ensure the implementation of its water reservoir projects.'
Islamabad had said after India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty that it considered any attempt to stop or divert the flow of water belonging to Pakistan to be an 'act of war.'
About 80 percent of Pakistani farms depend on the Indus system, as do nearly all hydropower projects serving the country of some 250 million.
Despite resource constraints, Aurangzeb said the government was committed to expanding its storage capacity and revamping its water infrastructure, adding that a detailed implementation plan would be announced in the coming days.
The minister also described climate change as an 'existential threat' to Pakistan, saying the country was among the most affected nations due to its impact.
Aurangzeb said the government had given significant attention to climate finance in the last 16 months and issued green sukuk not only to lower its carbon footprint but also provide investors with a chance to support environmental initiatives.
Aurangzeb cited Pakistan's 2018 National Water Policy as the foundation for a renewed push to manage water resources more efficiently and equitably.
Among key goals, he said, was expanding water storage by 10 million acre-feet, increasing water-use efficiency by 30 percent and deploying real-time discharge monitoring systems to reduce wastage, which is currently estimated at 33 percent.
He also said in the outgoing fiscal year, the government completed 34 of 59 water-related projects at a cumulative cost of Rs295 billion ($1.06 billion).
An additional Rs102 billion ($368 million) had been allocated for continued investment in ongoing schemes, the finance minister added.
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