Pakistan's prominent cities lack safe drinking water, finds govt data

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Islamabad: Most of the prominent cities in Pakistan do not have safe drinking water for citizens, according to data presented by the Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government at National Assembly.

According to Dawn, the data presented by Shibli Faraz, federal Minister for Science and Technology on the floor of the house in response to a question asked by opposition leader shows that out of the 29 cities where underground water was tested by the Pakistan Council of Research of Water Resources (PCRWR), there are 20 cities where more than 50 percent water obtained from various sources was found to be unsafe.

The PCRWR has declared 100 percent underground water in three cities -- Mirpurkhas and Shaheed Benazirabad (Nawabshah) in Sindh and Gilgit -- as unsafe for drinking. It further shows that the underground water obtained from nine sources each in Sialkot and Gujrat is 100 per cent safe for drinking purposes.

In July, Parliamentary Secretary National Health Services Dr. Nausheen Hamid has said that Pakistan`s per capita water availability has declined by 400 percent from 5,600 cubic metres in 1947 to around 1,038 cubic metres in 2021.

"This is a matter of serious concern," Dawn quoted Hamid as saying at a webinar on "Water on the roll: improving access to water in Pakistan." Noting that Pakistan was the fifth most populous country in the world, she said water scarcity was a "very serious threat" that will aggravate by 2025, leaving very limited water for use.

She also highlighted that inadequate supply of water further aggravated food security in the country. Experts have earlier warned that a famine-like situation may arise in Pakistan due to the scarcity of water across the country if the issue is not resolved timely, Geo News reported.

As per the report, water scarcity in the country has set alarm bells ringing after rivers have dried up due to low rainfall. Water experts warn that if new water reservoirs are not created and water wastage is not stopped, Pakistan will face a famine-like situation.

In the month of March, a Washington-based magazine, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) placed Pakistan at the third position in the list of countries facing acute water scarcity.