Ghazal - Sabko Maloom Hai Main Sharabi Nahin By Pankaj Udhas

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Pakistan’s Water Crisis

By Osama Rizvi

While Pakistan’s financial crisis is getting much media attention, the water crisis, its most pressing problem, is being ignored.

The media is rife with stories of Pakistan’s financial crisis. Unwarranted and ill-founded parallels are being drawn with Sri Lanka. The fiscal situation in the country will soon stabilize (though not resolve) after the budget is presented on June 10 and the IMF releases a tranche of $900 million; this endorsement will prompt China, Saudi Arabia, and other countries to park some dollars as well. However, other problems will continue to haunt Pakistan’s socioeconomic and, as an extension, political circumstances. The most pressing among these is the acute water crisis. This crisis will not only affect Pakistan’s agriculture sector, which contributes to 23 percent of Pakistan’s GDP and employs 42 percent of its labor force, but also it will take the form of an existential threat to energy and food security, and therefore national security.

A recent report, “Water Crisis in Pakistan: Manifestation, Causes and the Way Forward,” published by the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) sheds some light on the gravity of the issue by adducing eye-opening statistics. Pakistan ranks 14 out of 17 “extremely high water risk” countries in the world, as the country wastes one-third of water available. More than 80 percent of the country’s population faces “severe water scarcity.” Water availability in Pakistan has plummeted from 5,229 cubic meters per inhabitant in 1962 to just 1,187 in 2017.

One indicator highlighting the seriousness of the issue is the water withdrawal rate, which can be defined as the amount of water withdrawn from a source (surface or groundwater). Note that this is different from water consumption, which is the portion of withdrawn water that has been permanently lost as it was consumed (evaporated, used by plants or humans, etc.). Pakistan has been ranked 160th, better than only 18 countries, in terms of water withdrawals to water resource ratio. Moreover, the country treats only 1 percent of wastewater, one of the lowest rates in the world. Around 40 percent of water in Pakistan is lost due to spillage, seepage, side leakage, and bank cuttings along with irregular profiling of alignment of banks.

Agriculture is the largest consumer of water; 97 percent of Pakistan’s freshwater is used by the sector. The water crisis is putting the largest sector of the country’s economy at risk. Besides water deficiency and drought, there are other issues like water-logging and salinity affecting Pakistan’s crops, which are responsible for 60 percent of the agriculture sector’s contribution to GDP. An estimated shortage of around 70 million tons of food is expected by 2025.

Additionally, 30 percent of Pakistan’s land is expected to be waterlogged while 13 percent is saline. When coupled together with the overarching issue of growing water scarcity, one can see an existential threat to the country in the offing. Crop productivity is affected by water availability. This will impact cotton, which plays a pivotal role in the backbone of the country’s industry, textiles. Sugar is another crop that requires sufficient amounts of water and so does wheat. Col. Abid, a senior defense analyst and an expert on water management in Pakistan, says that “climate change, the apathy of successive governments towards growing water shortage at all levels, and the lack of planning have resulted in a severe water crisis” in Pakistan. “The country has reached a stage where its water management system seems to be progressing in the wrong direction,” he argued, adding that “instead of getting better, the crisis is getting worse.”

Pakistan’s population is expected to exceed 380 million by 2050, according to a U.N. report. Moreover, by 2025 the demand for water in Pakistan is expected to reach 274 million acre feet (MAF) as compared to 191 MAF supply of water.

The problem is that policymakers, the media, and the public are least bothered with what I have described as a threat to Pakistan’s national security. Switch on the television and 99 percent of talk shows will be focused on politics — who said what to whom. This needs to change. It doesn’t require any computer model or algorithm or a verbose research paper to see that if the water crisis isn’t addressed with a proactive approach, this can even lead to conflict between provinces, which can tear away the fabric of social cohesion, further weakening Pakistan from within.

Water crisis and its management should be prioritized to the highest degree. Pakistan should impose a water emergency and engage at international and national level to solve its crisis before it gets too late.

https://thediplomat.com/2022/06/pakistans-water-crisis/

#Pakistan - Bigger military role — why?

Pervez Hoodbhoy

AFTER the PTI-army ‘same-page’ relationship turned into a raging and ugly divorce, one expected some reluctance from Shahbaz Sharif’s PML-N government in contracting yet another fishy civil-military cohabitation arrangement. Instead, last week the prime minister upped the military’s role in national affairs by another notch. Henceforth all potential candidates for government posts, including civil service officers awaiting promotions, must have their credentials check-marked by the ISI. To be screened are Supreme Court judges, top-level civil servants, university professors, and many others.

Every intelligence agency — CIA, KGB, RAW, and Mossad included — provides intelligence on foreign operations, does counterintelligence operations, identifies sleeper cells, etc. Everywhere there is a temptation to use them against domestic opponents by casting them as anti-state. Although robust political systems can resist this, Pakistan’s has certainly not. The government’s new directive formalising the role of a military intelligence agency opens a can of worms.

Nabbing a mischievous Kulbhushan Jadhav from here or there is relatively easy — an Israeli-made Pegasus system can do wonders. But evaluating the patriotism of those who were born and live within Pakistan — and consider themselves loyal but free citizens — is complicated.

Certainly no intelligence agency is empowered to invent its own definition of patriotism. Instead it must follow the Constitution as interpreted by parliament and judiciary. But in practice, one question leads to the next.

Is an ‘anti-Pakistan element’ someone acting against the people of Pakistan or, instead, someone opposed to a particular state policy? The visible usurpation of resources by the country’s ultra-rich and ultra-powerful elite has blurred the boundaries separating national interests from personal or organisational interests. That thieves run Pakistan is now a thoroughly mundane, boring, universal accusation. Nevertheless, journalists or insiders exposing the theft of public resources are branded unpatriotic instead of being celebrated as exemplary.

Still more problematic is the identification of individuals charged with being ‘anti-Pakistani’ because they oppose certain postures of the state. Pakistan’s political parties regularly accuse each other of being traitorous and puppets of foreign masters. On matters of religiously inspired militancy we have internal splits within the military, judiciary, and between politicians. How is some poor mid-level intelligence officer, whether uniformed or civilian, to know what is patriotic and what is not? This lies way above his pay grade.

Some examples show just how horribly complicated it can get: Example: In a string of speeches, ex-PM Imran Khan claims the Islamic Republic of Pakistan will shatter into three pieces unless the military establishment — which catapulted him into power — reverses its new-found neutrality and places him back on top. He hints the army’s rank and file should disobey its top leadership and has asked families of military personnel to join his ‘million-man’ rallies. Some call it sedition. Should Khan — together with his minions and toadies — be given a clean chit? Or, instead, declared traitor?

Example: It was recommended in December 2019 through court papers submitted by the UK’s National Crime Agency that Shahbaz Sharif be investigated for money-laundering, fraud and corrupt practices. Three years later, NCA decided not to prosecute. This made PML-N crow victory. But PTI says that withdrawal of the case does not constitute exoneration. It plausibly points to other parts of Mr Sharif’s considerable wealth outside Pakistan. Until those allegations have been cleared, should the current prime-minister be certified as a patriot?

Example: The security establishment is tasked to safeguard the life and property of Pakistanis but some insiders are allied with terrorist groups. The case of Ehsanullah Ehsan — who oversaw the horrific slaughter of hundreds of civilians and soldiers — is noteworthy. Have our intelligence agencies successfully ferreted out those from within who allowed this captured terrorist to escape to Turkey from a top security prison facility? Do the agencies have the capacity to police themselves? Or prove that only true patriots fill their ranks?

Example: The Baloch belong to a multi-ethnic state but have long claimed mistreatment by a Punjab-dominated centre. This led to four insurgencies in which thousands died. Some Baloch resentment is based on facts, the rest is imagined. As for PTM, the tribals of Fata who asked for humane treatment and protested discrimination were deemed traitors and stomped upon. In ascertaining the patriotism of Pakistan’s “peripheral” nationalities, is it wise to use an intelligence agency that is widely perceived as being staffed mostly by Punjabis? Will this help or hinder the creation of a Pakistani national identity?Seventy-five years from Pakistan’s creation, except for within Punjab, there is a widespread feeling that Pakistanis have not gelled together as a nation. That thousands have gone missing is a stain on the national conscience. While Imran Khan’s antics are generating unprecedented polarisation, fault lines are everywhere — religious, ethnic, and political. As in the TLP’s march on the capital, extreme violence has been normalised.In contrast, although Bangladeshi groupings are far from friendly with each other, they are much less violent. There, a national consensus exists on larger goals. Bangladesh could therefore concentrate on manufacturing, trade, and greater opportunities for its citizens. As thick clouds of doom and gloom envelop Pakistan, its former ‘colony’ exudes a sense of positivity and optimism about its future.

This is so because Bangladesh is not a security-obsessed state. It openly prefers a strong country over a strong army. People there don’t have their patriotism challenged at every corner by security agencies. After some hiccups during the first four to five years, less military interference in daily affairs translated into greater national cohesiveness and a greater sense of well-being for its citizens.

There are important lessons here for Pakistan. We cannot afford to keep the bulk of our national energies focused on checkmating India and liberating Kashmir. This has allowed the security state to dominate our lives. Human development and economic growth have been pushed into the margins.

The ISI is a much vaunted and efficient organization. However, it is not trained or equipped to help Pakistan attain prosperity and international competiveness. To burden it with new tasks is unfair and Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif should undo his orders. The ballot box — with votes cast responsibly and counted fairly — remains the best bet for Pakistan’s future.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1694230/bigger-military-role-why

#Pakistan - High level PPP meeting stresses for taking decisions related to terrorism issues through Parliament

A high level meeting of PPP was held in Zardari house islamabad to discuss in depth the issue of terrorism particularly in the light of recent developments in Afghanistan with the TTA & TTP.

The hybrid meeting presided over by former President Asif Ali Zardari and chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari was attended by senior party leadership. A statement issued by Secretary General Farhatullah Babar said that the meeting reiterated the Party position that all decisions must be taken by the parliament and thus the parliament must be taken on board.

The party also decided to reach out to allied parties to create consensus on the way forward.

The meeting was attended among others by two former prime ministers Yousuf Raza Gillani, Raja Pervez ASHRAF, Ms Faryal Talpur, Sindh chief minister Murad Ali Shah, syed Khursheed Shah, Sherry Rehman, Nayyer Bukhari, Najmuddin president ppp KPK, Faisal Karim Kundi, Humayun Khan, Ch Yasin, Qamar Kaira, Chaudhry Manzoor, Nadeem Afzal Chan, Akhunzada Chattan, Rukhsana Bangash, Nisar Khuro and Farhatullah Babar.

https://www.ppp.org.pk/pr/27277/