- Water availability in KP drops to 679 cubic meters.
- Punjab records 760 cubic meters per year.
- Balochistan falls to 928 cubic meters.
Pakistan’s per capita water availability has declined sharply due to 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 increased by 40 million, leading to a reduction of 154 cubic meters per person in annual water availability,” the ministry said in its findings.
According to the report, Pakistan’s population is expected to reach 288 million by 2030, and per capita water availability is expected to further decline to 795 cubic meters.
At the provincial level, the annual per capita water availability in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has fallen to 679 cubic meters, while Punjab records 760 cubic meters and Sindh 1,169 cubic meters.
In Balochistan, available water resources stand at 928 cubic meters per person, the report added.
The statistics on declining water resources emerge as the downstream riparian country is in conflict with India over the Indus Water Treaty (IWT).
India unilaterally suspended the IWT with Pakistan in April this year, following the killing of 26 people in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOK).
Water use between the two nations is governed by the IWT, negotiated by the World Bank and signed by the neighbors in September 1960.
There is no provision in the treaty allowing either country to unilaterally suspend or terminate the agreement, which has clear dispute resolution systems.
Meanwhile, Federal Minister for Food Security and Research Rana Tanveer Hussain said the country was suffering a 10-15 per cent annual decline in agricultural production.
In a written response during the NA session, he warned that losses could reach up to 30% due to poor harvests, handling, storage and transportation.
Hussain added that eliminating these losses could save Pakistan up to $1.8 billion every year, highlighting the scale of the economic impact on the agricultural sector.
According to the minister, the effects of climate change and inadequate transportation systems are among the main contributors to crop losses nationwide.
