Pakistan: A Water Stress Country
At the time of independence, Pakistan was a water-abundant country. But, the reality has changed in today's time. The country is the epicenter of the growing water crisis and it has fallen in the list of water stress countries. The questions popping up in the minds are what are the factors that have been pushing Pakistan towards water scarcity? and is there any way forward? To answer these questions, one has to delve deep into the different socio-economic and political dynamics of the country. On the social side, from the time of independence to 2025, the population of Pakistan has soared from 35 million to more than 220 million. It means that the demand curve is on the rise at an exorbitant rate. Then, the years of negligence, poor water governance and political turmoil have been aggravating the situation. For a majority of Pakistanis, water is still a plentiful resource; therefore, if they are still cultivating highly water-intensive crops like r...