Per capita water availability declines amid population surge, NA told

• KP water availability falls to 679 cubic metres.
• Punjab records 760 cubic metres annually.
• Balochistan drops to 928 cubic metres.
  

Pakistan’s per capita water availability has declined sharply amid a growing population, the Ministry of Water Resources revealed in a report presented before the National Assembly on Monday.

“From 2017 to 2023, the population rose by 40 million, causing a reduction of 154 cubic metres per person in annual water availability,” the ministry stated in its findings.

According to the report, Pakistan’s population is projected to reach 288 million by 2030, with per capita water availability expected to fall further to 795 cubic metres.

Province-wise, annual per capita water availability in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has dropped to 679 cubic metres, while Punjab records 760 cubic metres and Sindh 1,169 cubic metres.

In Balochistan, available water resources stand at 928 cubic metres per person, the report added.

The statistics about declining water resources emerge as the downstream riparian country is in a dispute with India over the Indus Water Treaty (IWT).

India unilaterally held the IWT with Pakistan in abeyance in April this year following the killing of 26 people in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOK).

The use of the water between the two nations is governed by the IWT, which was mediated by the World Bank and signed by the neighbours in September 1960.

There is no provision in the treaty for either country to unilaterally suspend or terminate the pact, which has clear dispute resolution systems.

Meanwhile, Federal Minister for Food Security and Research Rana Tanveer Hussain said that the country was suffering an annual decline of 10% to 15% in crop production.

In a written reply during the NA session, he warned that losses could reach up to 30% due to poor harvesting, handling, storage and transportation.

Hussain added that eliminating these losses could save Pakistan as much as $1.8 billion each year, underscoring the scale of the economic impact on the agriculture sector.

According to the minister, climate change effects and inadequate transportation systems were among the major contributors to crop losses nationwide.