Pakistan’s national security tied to water
Like any country, Pakistan’s national security is tied to its food security which in turn is linked with its water security which is under immense pressure.
This was stated by speakers during a conference on ‘Water Security Challenges and Conservation Strategy for Pakistan’. The conference had been jointly organised on Monday by the Centre for Global and Strategic Studies (CGSS) and the Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSF) Pakistan in the federal capital.
Dr Steffen Kudella, the resident representative of HSF, stated that Pakistan is one of the most naturally arid countries in the world with an average rainfall of just 240 millimetres. This means that just a fourth of the country’s land area is cultivable. This is complicated when much of the country’s agriculture belt is dependent on a single river system. To reduce this risk, the HSF representative suggested that Pakistan fight water shortages, promote reforestation, maintain water infrastructure, harvest more rainfall, and strengthen its water management.
Water also needs to become a topic of regional dialogue after discussions on the national level, Dr Kudella suggested.
Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) Chairman Dr Muhammad Ashraf said that national security was dependent on food security which in turn is dependent on water supply and security.
With anyone having the power to install tube wells and pumps, there is immense pressure on ground water, he said, adding that it is thus important to regulate it.
We need to legislate and restrict indiscriminate groundwater absorption.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 24th, 2020.