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Business Recorder
5 days ago
- Science
- Business Recorder
‘River of Life method helps collect insights from vulnerable adolescents'
KARACHI: The Data and Research in Education – Research Consortium (DARE-RC) hosted the second edition of its webinar series 'Building Communities of Practice in Education', bringing together highly accomplished Pakistani and international education researchers to share critical research findings and strategies for improving Pakistan's education system. DARE-RC is a pioneering education research initiative, generating actionable insights to drive evidence-based education reform nationwide. It is led by Oxford Policy Management (OPM) with consortium partners Aga Khan University Institute of Education (AKU-IED) and Sightsavers, and funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). The webinar episode 'Exploring the River of Life Participatory Method' featured Dr Asma Zubairi, an Associate Professor at the University College London (UCL), and Dr Rabea Malik, a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Development and Economic Alternatives (IDEAS). This method will be used in a research study commissioned by DARE-RC to be led by Dr Rabea Malik within Sindh. During the webinar, the speakers presented the River of Life participatory method as an innovative method to gather in-depth data while working with vulnerable adolescents, particularly those affected by climate-induced emergencies or those who may be marginalised. This topic is essential for understanding how to leverage participant-centred approaches in education research. If implemented well, the River of Life method can generate rich, narrative-based data. In discussion with Dr Sahar Shah (Senior Research Manager at DARE-RC), Dr Asma Zubair and Dr Rabea Malik drew on experiences from the Girls' Education Challenge evaluation across Ghana, Kenya, and Nepal, focusing on its relevance for marginalised out-of-school adolescent girls and its potential application to the context of Pakistan. Education practitioners, policymakers, government representatives, academics and researchers engaged with the experts and raised queries related to the notion of 'agency' and 'opportunities' embedded within the methodology, navigating data collection among vulnerable groups, and the impact of this approach when speaking to children with varying personalities, or those who may be differently abled. Dr. Asma elaborated on how the River of Life method allows vulnerable young people to map out and provide critical insights into their lives such as their experiences of services, peer and family influences, barriers and negative experiences, and empowering experiences at different stages of their lives. It can also help them consider alternative future aspirations. While the method promises a rich and nuanced investigation into the lives of vulnerable populations, it does not come so without its challenges. Dr. Asma highlighted that while this research method was used to gather insight into the lives of 98 adolescent girls across Ghana, Kenya and Nepal, its effective implementation required significant time and conducive physical spaces. Moreover, there is a risk of triggering traumatic memories for participants which requires nuanced navigation by educational researchers; in this case a psycho-social counsellor was hired during data collection to manage any such instances. Moreover, this method may potentially lead to fatigue for both the participant and researcher. Additionally, some participants may need more hands-on support compared to others, meaning researchers must arrange for extra assistance to help guide and generate an in-depth discussion. Dr. Rabea, emphasized that it is crucial to recognise that this is a participant-led approach, and within the context of Pakistan, researchers must be ready to adapt and be flexible in the use of tools to make participants as comfortable as possible. This episode as part of the DARE-RC webinar series marks a significant step in fostering an evidence-driven approach to education reform in Pakistan. By engaging key stakeholders in meaningful dialogue, the consortium continues to advance its mission of leveraging rigorous research to shape policies that ensure equitable, high-quality learning opportunities for all children, especially the most marginalised. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Otago Daily Times
28-04-2025
- Politics
- Otago Daily Times
Panic in Pakistan as India vows to cut off water supply
Spraying pesticides on his parched vegetables one street away from the Indus River, Pakistani farmer Homla Thakhur is worried about his future. The sun is at its peak, the river is running very low, and India has vowed to cut supplies upstream after a deadly militant attack in Kashmir. "If they stop water, all of this will turn into the Thar desert, the whole country," said Thakhur, 40, before heading back to the river to refill the tank for the spray gun. "We'll die of hunger." His nearly two-hectare farm is located in the Latifabad area of the southeastern province of Sindh, from where the Indus flows into the Arabian Sea after originating in Tibet and snaking through India. Thakhur's fears were echoed by more than 15 Pakistani farmers and several other experts, especially as rain has been scanty in recent years. For the first time, India on Wednesday suspended the World Bank-mediated Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 that ensures water for 80% of Pakistani farms, saying it would last until "Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism". India says two of the three militants who attacked tourists and killed 26 men in Kashmir were from Pakistan. Islamabad has denied any role and said "any attempt to stop or divert the flow of water belonging to Pakistan ... will be considered as an Act of War". The treaty split the Indus and its tributaries between the nuclear-armed rivals. Government officials and experts on both sides say India cannot stop water flows immediately, because the treaty has allowed it to only build hydropower plants without significant storage or dams on the three rivers allocated to Pakistan. But things could start changing in a few months. "We will ensure no drop of the Indus River's water reaches Pakistan," India's water resources minister, Chandrakant Raghunath Paatil, said on X. He did not respond to questions about the fears in Pakistan. Two Indian government officials, who declined to be identified discussing a sensitive subject, said the country could within months start diverting the water for its own farms using canals while planning hydroelectric dams that could take four to seven years to finish. Immediately, India will stop sharing data like hydrological flows at various sites of the rivers flowing through India, withhold flood warnings and skip annual meetings under the Permanent Indus Commission headed by one official each from the two countries, said Kushvinder Vohra, a recently retired head of India's Central Water Commission. "They will not have much information with them when the water is coming, how much is coming," said Vohra, who was also India's Indus Commissioner and now advises the government occasionally. "Without the information, they cannot plan." And it is not just agriculture, a shortage of water will also hit electricity generation and potentially cripple the economy, economists say. Vaqar Ahmed, economist and team lead with UK consulting firm Oxford Policy Management, said that Pakistan had underestimated the threat of India walking away from the treaty. "India hasn't got the kind of immediate infrastructure to halt the waterflows, especially during flood times, so this period creates a crucial window for Pakistan to address the inefficiencies in its water sector," he said. "There are a lot of inefficiencies, leakages." RUNNING DISPUTES In recent years, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has been seeking to renegotiate the treaty and the two countries have been trying to settle some of their differences in the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague over the size of the Kishenganga and Ratle hydroelectric plants' water storage area. "We can now pursue our projects in free will," said Vohra. In a letter on Thursday, India told Pakistan that circumstances had changed since the treaty was signed, including population increases and the need for more cleaner energy sources, referring to hydropower. A World Bank spokesperson said it was a "signatory to the treaty for a limited set of defined tasks" and that it does "not opine on treaty-related sovereign decisions taken by its member countries". Nadeem Shah, who has a 150-acre farm in Sindh where he grows cotton, sugar cane, wheat and vegetables, said he was also worried about drinking water. "We have trust in God, but there are concerns over India's actions," he said. The three rivers meant for Pakistan, a country of 240 million people, irrigate more than 16 million hectares of farmland, or up to 80% of the total. Ghasharib Shaokat of Pakistan Agriculture Research, a Karachi research firm, said India's actions inject uncertainty "into a system that was never designed for unpredictability". "At this moment, we don't have a substitute," he said. "The rivers governed by the treaty support not just crops, but cities, power generation, and millions of livelihoods." The treaty remained largely unscathed even when India and Pakistan fought four wars since separating in 1947, but the suspension sets a dangerous precedent, Pakistani politicians said. "We're already locked into generations of conflict, and by exiting the Indus Water Treaty, I believe we're locking future generations into a brand new context of conflict," said Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Pakistan's former foreign minister. "That must not happen."
Business Recorder
28-04-2025
- Politics
- Business Recorder
Panic as India vows to cut off water supply over IIOJK
LATIFABAD: Spraying pesticides on his parched vegetables one street away from the Indus River, farmer Homla Thakhur is worried about his future. The sun is at its peak, the river is running very low, and India has vowed to cut supplies upstream after a deadly militant attack in IIOJK. 'If they stop water, all of this will turn into the Thar desert, the whole country,' said Thakhur, 40, before heading back to the river to refill the tank for the spray gun. 'We'll die of hunger.' His nearly 5-acre (2 hectare) farm is located in the Latifabad area of the Sindh, from where the Indus flows into the Arabian Sea after originating in Tibet and snaking through India. Thakhur's fears were echoed by more than 15 farmers and several other experts, especially as rain has been scanty in recent years. For the first time, India on Wednesday suspended the World Bank-mediated Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 that ensures water for 80% of Pakistani farms, saying it would last until 'Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism'. Islamabad has denied any role and said 'any attempt to stop or divert the flow of water belonging to Pakistan ... will be considered as an Act of War'. The treaty split the Indus and its tributaries between the nuclear-armed rivals. Government officials and experts on both sides say India cannot stop water flows immediately, because the treaty has allowed it to only build hydropower plants without significant storage or dams on the three rivers allocated to Pakistan. But things could start changing in a few months. 'We will ensure no drop of the Indus River's water reaches Pakistan,' India's water resources minister, Chandrakant Raghunath Paatil, said on X. He did not respond to questions about the fears in Pakistan. Two Indian government officials, who declined to be identified discussing a sensitive subject, said the country could within months start diverting the water for its own farms using canals while planning hydroelectric dams that could take four to seven years to finish. Immediately, India will stop sharing data like hydrological flows at various sites of the rivers flowing through India, withhold flood warnings and skip annual meetings under the Permanent Indus Commission headed by one official each from the two countries, said Kushvinder Vohra, a recently retired head of India's Central Water Commission. 'They will not have much information with them when the water is coming, how much is coming,' said Vohra, who was also India's Indus Commissioner and now advises the government occasionally. 'Without the information, they cannot plan.' And it is not just agriculture, a shortage of water will also hit electricity generation and potentially cripple the economy, economists say. Vaqar Ahmed, economist and team lead with UK consulting firm Oxford Policy Management, said that Pakistan had underestimated the threat of India walking away from the treaty. 'India hasn't got the kind of immediate infrastructure to halt the waterflows, especially during flood times, so this period creates a crucial window for Pakistan to address the inefficiencies in its water sector,' he said.
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Business Standard
27-04-2025
- Politics
- Business Standard
Pakistan in panic as India vows to cut water supply after Pahalgam attack
For the first time, India suspended the World Bank-mediated Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 that ensures water for 80 per cent of Pakistani farms Reuters Spraying pesticides on his parched vegetables one street away from the Indus River, Pakistani farmer Homla Thakhur is worried about his future. The sun is at its peak, the river is running very low, and India has vowed to cut supplies upstream after a deadly militant attack in Kashmir. "If they stop water, all of this will turn into the Thar desert, the whole country," said Thakhur, 40, before heading back to the river to refill the tank for the spray gun. "We'll die of hunger." Thakhur's fears were echoed by more than 15 Pakistani farmers and several other experts, especially as rain has been scanty in recent years. For the first time, India on Wednesday suspended the World Bank-mediated Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 that ensures water for 80 per cent of Pakistani farms, saying it would last until "Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism". India says two of the three militants who attacked tourists and killed 26 men in Kashmir were from Pakistan. Islamabad has denied any role and said "any attempt to stop or divert the flow of water belonging to Pakistan ... will be considered as an Act of War". The treaty split the Indus and its tributaries between the nuclear-armed rivals. Government officials and experts on both sides say India cannot stop water flows immediately, because the treaty has allowed it to only build hydropower plants without significant storage or dams on the three rivers allocated to Pakistan. But things could start changing in a few months. "We will ensure no drop of the Indus River's water reaches Pakistan," India's water resources minister, Chandrakant Raghunath Paatil, said on X. He did not respond to questions about the fears in Pakistan. Two Indian government officials, who declined to be identified discussing a sensitive subject, said the country could within months start diverting the water for its own farms using canals while planning hydroelectric dams that could take four to seven years to finish. Immediately, India will stop sharing data like hydrological flows at various sites of the rivers flowing through India, withhold flood warnings and skip annual meetings under the Permanent Indus Commission headed by one official each from the two countries, said Kushvinder Vohra, a recently retired head of India's Central Water Commission. "They will not have much information with them when the water is coming, how much is coming," said Vohra, who was also India's Indus Commissioner and now advises the government occasionally. "Without the information, they cannot plan." And it is not just agriculture, a shortage of water will also hit electricity generation and potentially cripple the economy, economists say. Vaqar Ahmed, economist and team lead with UK consulting firm Oxford Policy Management, said that Pakistan had underestimated the threat of India walking away from the treaty. "India hasn't got the kind of immediate infrastructure to halt the waterflows, especially during flood times, so this period creates a crucial window for Pakistan to address the inefficiencies in its water sector," he said. "There are a lot of inefficiencies, leakages." RUNNING DISPUTES In recent years, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has been seeking to renegotiate the treaty and the two countries have been trying to settle some of their differences in the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague over the size of the Kishenganga and Ratle hydroelectric plants' water storage area. "We can now pursue our projects in free will," said Vohra. In a letter on Thursday, India told Pakistan that circumstances had changed since the treaty was signed, including population increases and the need for more cleaner energy sources, referring to hydropower. A World Bank spokesperson said it was a "signatory to the treaty for a limited set of defined tasks" and that it does "not opine on treaty-related sovereign decisions taken by its member countries". Nadeem Shah, who has a 150-acre farm in Sindh where he grows cotton, sugar cane, wheat and vegetables, said he was also worried about drinking water. "We have trust in God, but there are concerns over India's actions," he said. The three rivers meant for Pakistan, a country of 240 million people, irrigate more than 16 million hectares of farmland, or up to 80 per cent of the total. Ghasharib Shaokat of Pakistan Agriculture Research, a Karachi research firm, said India's actions inject uncertainty "into a system that was never designed for unpredictability". "At this moment, we don’t have a substitute," he said. "The rivers governed by the treaty support not just crops, but cities, power generation, and millions of livelihoods." The treaty remained largely unscathed even when India and Pakistan fought four wars since separating in 1947, but the suspension sets a dangerous precedent, Pakistani politicians said. "We're already locked into generations of conflict, and by exiting the Indus Water Treaty, I believe we're locking future generations into a brand new context of conflict," said Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Pakistan's former foreign minister.
