Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Professor Ahsan Iqbal on Tuesday warned that India\u2019s move to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty poses a serious threat to regional peace and Pakistan\u2019s water rights.<\/p>\n
Chairing the first meeting of the Task Force on National Water Security, Ahsan Iqbal said India\u2019s actions amounted to water aggression and could push Pakistan towards a severe and prolonged water crisis. Federal Minister for Water Resources Mian Muhammad Moeen Wattoo also attended the meeting.<\/p>\n
During the session, Ahsan Iqbal directed the Ministry of Water Resources to establish a special working group and submit practical and actionable recommendations to the Planning Commission within 15 days.<\/p>\n
Officials briefed the meeting that the rate of glacier melting in the Hindu Kush-Himalaya region increased by 65 percent during the 2011\u20132020 decade. It was stated that the Siachen Glacier is melting at a rate of 50 to 60 metres annually, while glacier melt in the Himalayan region has reached up to 30 metres per year.<\/p>\n
The planning minister said climate change had dangerously accelerated glacier melt, adding that 23 percent of glacier ice had already been lost since 1960. He directed that an immediate technical workshop be convened to translate water policies into concrete action plans.<\/p>\n
Ahsan Iqbal warned that climate change and increasing uncertainty in river flows posed a grave risk to Pakistan. He said water conservation was directly linked to food security and economic stability, stressing that Pakistan could not afford inaction on water management.<\/p>\n
He further said coordination between the federal government and provinces on the National Water Policy must be strengthened at all costs. Water security, he added, was not limited to a single sector but was fundamental to national survival and sovereignty.<\/p>\n
The minister noted that around 80 percent of Pakistan\u2019s water supply comes from rivers and that population growth was placing increasing pressure on already limited water resources. He said financial models for water management were being updated in light of climate change and rising population demands.<\/p>\n
Highlighting the need for new water storage infrastructure, Ahsan Iqbal said the construction of new dams was essential. He described the Diamer-Bhasha and Mohmand dams as milestone projects that would significantly enhance Pakistan\u2019s water storage capacity.<\/p>\n
He directed the chairman of Wapda, Indus River System Authority, National Flood Commission, and all provinces to provide expert input to the working group. He also instructed that a clear timetable be set to address water-related challenges, with mitigation of risks to be treated as a top priority, according to officials present at the meeting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Professor Ahsan Iqbal on Tuesday warned that India\u2019s move to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty poses a serious threat to regional peace and Pakistan\u2019s water rights. Chairing the first meeting of the Task Force on National Water Security, Ahsan Iqbal said India\u2019s actions amounted to water aggression […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":34974,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30,16],"tags":[103],"ppma_author":[213],"class_list":{"0":"post-71004","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-latest","8":"category-pakistan","9":"tag-top-stories"},"yoast_head":"\n