WATER emergency in Pakistan is increasing by each passing day and the burgeoning population is adding to the problem. According to an International Monetary Fund report, Pakistan is third among the nations confronting water scarcity.

While such reports should have rung alarm bells in power corridors, Pakistan’s policymakers seem oblivious to the grave issue. Neither the federal government nor the provincial governments are keen in dealing with the water issue.

The political parties are busy playing dirty politics without realizing the severity of the water crisis. It might not take too long for our cities to face a Thar-like situation where about 828 children have died owing to drought and lack of water during the last three years.

We must act now to conserve water and devise ways to store it.

M Ishaq Asif

Karachi

Published in Dawn, June 20th, 2018