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Water Shortage our Top Problem

PAKISTAN is faced with numerous grave issues at present. I would like to list down the issues that we were faced with in the recent past and those that we are faced with at present.

— The Kashmir issue with no plebiscite despite UN resolution.

— Restoration of democracy.

— Restoration and freedom of the judiciary and rule of law.


— Menace of under-invoicing, smuggling and corruption.

— Shortage of essential food items.

— Power shortage.

— Lack of consensus between provinces on building of dams to address water and power shortages.

— Education and healthcare.

— Justice and merit.

— Militancy and suicide attacks.

— Foreign intervention and drone attacks.

— Failure to deal effectively with accusations by India in case of militancy in their country and their embassies in Kabul.

— India’s interference in our internal affairs, fanning insurgency in Balochistan through a string of Indian consulates along our borders with Afghanistan.

— Black water’s presence and their ever increasing hegemony and influence.

— Spread of arms and narcotics.

The list is endless, but the one that in my opinion is the most crucial is the shortage of water that the country is facing at present. This problem is going to be compounded with the passage of time.

India has been building dams on all their major rivers that flow from their occupied lands into Pakistan. The governments in the recent past and the present one have failed miserably to project the resultant water shortage to Pakistan’s territories.

India has been raising their case of Mumbai attacks at all forums, particularly exercising influence over the US government, winning a diplomatic war over us as we failed to counter their propaganda effectively.

The least that the Pakistan government could do at present is to raise the issue of water at all forums, including the US and the UN. If India is not stopped from blocking our due share of water, a large chunk of our fertile land will become barren and we will be faced with famine.

India does not have to attack us with their nuclear arsenal or conventional weapons. They have plans to gradually push us towards such a situation.

I request the incumbent government in Pakistan and the politicians in the opposition to join hands to effectively handle this crucial issue. Our next generations will not forgive us for this grave lapse on our part.


From

Manaqib Irtaqa
Karachi.