KARACHI: The 7th Karachi International Water Conference that kicked off on Tuesday concluded with gusto on Wednesday, featuring various sessions where speakers delved into critical subjects related to water crisis and floods.

Throughout the day, the experts dwelled on water-related challenges in the country and potential solutions to bring about a positive change.

According to a press release, day two started with a panel discussion on ‘Urban drainage and floods’. Chaired by academic Dr Sarosh Lodi, the session was moderated by NED University Pro Vice Chancellor Dr Noman Ahmed. Other panellists include Umer Karim, Seema Taher Khan, Alia Shahid, Nazeer Essani, and Fahimuzzaman Siddiqui.

Simultaneously, under the stream of Water and Health, the topic of ‘Child stunting: why is it not addressed?’ was tackled by panellists Dr Zulfiqar Bhutta, Dr Naveed Bhutto, Dr Fauzia Waqar, Basharat Saeed, and Dr Farhana Shahid.

The session was chaired by Dr Qaisar Sajjad and moderated by Dr Yasmeen Sabeeh Qazi.

The stream of Water Justice focused on ‘Living on the edge with floods: economic and social impacts’, moderated by Rafay Alam. Panellists included Simi Kamal, Dr Lubna Ghazal, Dr Shehla Batool, Riaz Wagan and Farrukh Ahmad.

The second part of the conference was the highlight of the day, featuring Hisaar Foundation’s signature “Café of the Unheard”. Co-moderated by Simi Kamal and Talha Jatoi, who created an open and interactive space for young people to sit with experts and young provocateurs at roundtables, they engaged directly on topics ranging from environmental justice to governance and technology.

The third segment of the day saw Dr Akissa Bahri chairing ‘Putting people first — indigenous water wisdom’ under the Water for People stream. Moderated by Sanaa Zulfikar Causer, its panellists included Faiz Kakar, Kausar S Khan, Shaikh Soaleh, Sohail Naqvi, Sirj ul Haq Ghori, and Askari Hasan.

Under the stream of Water and Health, Kamran Naeem chaired a session on ‘Sanitation — the forgotten part of WASH’, which was moderated by Rahal Saeed and included Dr Tanveer Ahmed, Dr Qurat ul Ain Bakhteari, Bisma Imran, Dr Tasneem Fatima, Dr Zafar Fatmi as panellists.

The closing plenary was moderated by Sanaa Causer. Featuring Tofiq Pasha Mooraj, Shabina Ayaz, Aijaz ul Haq, and Dr Muhammad Tufail, it explored innovative collaborations and grassroots institutionalisation. A memorandum of understanding was also signed between Panjwani Hisaar Water Institute and University of Southern Punjab.

The formulation of the Living Charter for Water and People was presented online by Simi Kamal, while Akissa Bahri concluded the conference.

Acknowledgements by Ashraf Kapadia brought the very successful two-day international conference to an end, having shed light not only on critical water issues but also provided a platform for collaborative solutions and a renewed commitment to addressing the water crisis.

Published in Dawn, October 30th, 2025