Senator Ali Zafar warns of looming water crisis, calls it as critical as terrorism

ISLAMABAD: Senator Ali Zafar on Friday declared Pakistan’s water crisis as grave a threat as terrorism, warning that the country is rapidly heading towards severe water scarcity.

Speaking at a parliamentary session, the senator stated: “Water scarcity is a war being imposed on us. Predictions about 21st-century wars being fought over water are proving true.” He said that Pakistan is already facing a water emergency, saying: “If we don’t solve our water issues, we may face famine. The Indus is our lifeline – it’s essentially a water bomb hanging over us that we must defuse.”

Senator Zafar linked the water crisis to historical tensions with India, recalling that water distribution became contentious immediately after Partition. “India has consistently used water as a weapon against Pakistan since 1947,” he alleged.

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He defended the Indus Waters Treaty as indispensable, stating: “The treaty explicitly bars India from stopping Pakistan’s water share. It cannot be unilaterally suspended – that would be a violation.” The senator noted that while India has built dams on its three allocated rivers, Pakistan developed the world’s largest canal system under the treaty’s framework.

Zafar warned against India’s “greedy ambitions” to control Pakistan’s share of rivers but insisted the treaty must be upheld. “If India wants to terminate the agreement, both countries must negotiate a new one. They cannot simply nullify it – they would have to dismantle their dams first,” he asserted.