Full compliance with Indus Water treaty ‘critical’

'Besides tragic human and material cost, water-related threats impede our ability to accomplish national priorities'

UNITED NATIONS:

A senior Pakistani diplomat called for “full compliance” of the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty.

“Pakistan’s water-scarcity is owed to Pakistan’s status as a lower-riparian state with unpredictable flow of waters in our eastern rivers,” Ambassador Munir Akram said at an event organised by Egypt and Finland in connection with World Water Day.

“Many of our catchment areas and their ecosystems traverse boundaries,” the Pakistani envoy told a large gathering of diplomats and UN officials.

“Changes on the other side of the border have a direct impact on us,” he said. “Therefore,” Ambassador Akram said, “full compliance of the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty is critical for Pakistan.”

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“These risks and vulnerabilities are not just academic issues,” he said, pointing to the widespread devastation caused by massive floods in 2010 and 2011, and drought in Sindh in 2014.

“Besides the tragic human and material cost, these water-related threats also impede our ability to accomplish national priorities, promote sustainable growth and development, and ensure economic prosperity for our people.”

Thanking Egypt and Finland for organising the event, he said that water is inextricably linked to human life and livelihood and the planet’s eco-system.