As the fear of the Pakistan-India War approaches a dark reality, one area that remains alarmingly under-discussed in the mainstream discourse is water. Water is the symbol of life, but unfortunately, mankind has converted it into a source of conflict and war. The Indus Water treaty is a long-standing agreement between Pakistan and India which delimits the rights and obligations of both countries concerning the use of the waters of the Indus River system. India has time and again threatened to end or reconsider the said agreement, and while the treaty has endured wars and political upheavals since its signing in 1960, the current climate change crisis and increasing water stress in both countries pose a serious threat to its sustainability. The prospect of water becoming not just a diplomatic tool but a potential trigger for conflict is no longer a distant scenario; it is a present and escalating concern.
Water wars are not unheard of in human history. Whether it was the ancient wars of Mesopotamia over the Tigris and Euphrates or modern disputes like the Pakistan-India water conflict, man has fought over this precious resource since the beginning of time. The Pacific Institute’s Water Conflict Chronology shows over 1900 incidents of armed violence linked to water resources, with a significant increase in conflict events since the 20th century. Nearly 90% of recorded conflicts have occurred since the start of the 21st century, with a notable rise in the number of conflict events in recent years, mainly attributed to the unsustainable use and lack of water management & conservation in majority of the developing countries. The South-Asian region is extremely vulnerable in this regard, with Pakistan having one of the highest rates of water consumption per capita and one of the lowest water storage capacities. According to the National Institutes of Health, by 2025, around 207 million people in Pakistan could face absolute water scarcity, with less than 500 cubic meters of water available per person.
The prospect of water becoming not just a diplomatic tool but a potential trigger for conflict is no longer a distant scenario;
it is a present and escalating concern.
The current situation makes one wonder about the notion of water wars vs. water wisdom. The concept of water wisdom encompasses the knowledge and practice of managing water sustainably and cooperatively. Water wars can stem from competition over scarce resources, while water wisdom focuses on minimizing environmental impact and fostering collaboration to ensure water availability for all. Pakistan’s current economic, environmental, and social dilemmas require the implementation of water wisdom to effectively and efficiently conserve and manage this valuable resource. While water diplomacy may solve our external issues, we need to adopt various water conservation measures to reduce water wastage and improve water storage. Many developed countries have adopted sustainable water conservation & management strategies, including wastewater recycling for agricultural, industrial or other commercial uses, desalination of sea water, implementation of smart water technologies such as digital sensors, smart meters, and leak detection systems, creation of a National Water Grid in the form of a unified, flexible system that moves water across the country depending on demand and country-wide rain water harvesting & storage infrastructure. However, the water revolution is not limited to technological and structural reforms; the most integral and unfortunately missing in Pakistan is public awareness and education. Conservation of the natural environment and resources should be ingrained in the basic moral structure of our future generation for Pakistan to survive this rapidly worsening war against water scarcity.
Pakistan cannot afford to view water as a single-issue problem. It must be integrated into the national development agenda, with measurable targets and transparent monitoring mechanisms. Our approach to water must be holistic, addressing agriculture, industry, urban planning, and education all at once. Pakistan’s banking sector can become a catalyst for this change by providing green financing to the various water conservation projects and the development of water management systems within the agricultural, industrial, and service sectors. Green bonds or sukuks could be used to fund large-scale projects, such as rainwater harvesting & storage, wastewater recycling projects, desalination plants, and irrigation systems. Pakistan’s 1046 km coastline provides ample potential for desalination sites. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDGs) 2030 offer a universal framework to address complex challenges like water scarcity. Goal 6 explicitly focuses on ensuring the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all. Water scarcity also impacts a country’s ability to achieve other UN-SDGs such as food security (Goal 2), health (Goal 3), climate action (Goal 13), and even peace and justice (Goal 16).
The writing is on the wall. Pakistan must focus on water wisdom through investing in infrastructure, awareness, innovation, and cooperation. It is time we stop treating water as an entitlement and treat it as a sacred responsibility entrusted to us because the next conflict may not be on borders or ideology but on the right to drink, to farm, to live. We must choose water wisdom over water war before we experience the truth behind the words of Benjamin Franklin: “When the well is dry, we know the worth of water”.
Dr Syed Asim Ali Bukhari is working as SVP/Unit Head – ESG and Muhammad Waqas Mahmood works as EVP/Divisional Head – ESG, Policy & RA in The Bank of Punjab.