PRIME Minister Imran Khan has always praised China’s economic rise. One factor that has played a big role in China’s rise is its mastery of its water resources. Chinese legends extol water (shui) for both its beauty and cruelty.

Each year, the Yellow river used to carry an annual sediment load of approximately 182 million cubic metres. The result was regular floods in both the Yellow and Yangtze rivers which would wreak perennial havoc. The floods in 1931 killed about four million people and inundated an area the size of Great Britain.

The rivers in Pakistan are generally docile. Yet, we allow our white gold to drain into the Arabian Sea because of political differences. Our government has — to date — been unable to bring back a penny of money stashed abroad. However, it has accentuated political acrimony to the point that dams are difficult to build.

Aisha Jamal Mia

Islamabad

Published in Dawn, January 20th, 2019