Will Pakistan Become a Desolate Tract?

On 19^th September 2020, a massive crowd gathered at the Minto Park where the political leadership in coalition with the Difa-i-Pakistan council held a rally. A thirsty famine-struck crowd listened to, “We will not allow India to continue this! We will defeat them and will not allow them to violate the Indus Water Treaty by trying to sabotage our river waters by constructing dams. The Indians would not be left alone with our water. Jihad is the only justice for this Nuclear Islamic State.” The crowd cheered with enthusiasm “Pakistan Zindabad, Leadership Zindabad, and Indians Murdabad.”
As I write this article today I can picture Pakistan all dried up and turned into a desolate tract by 2020. I can hear the booming voices of the politicians screaming out aloud that India has made us lifeless without water. The rivers are all dried up and one can see the gypsies comfortably making the river bed as their home.

One could see that the 1960 Indus Water Treaty with India was a blessing in disguise for the Pakistani state as it helped to manage the conflict at hand. The treaty divided the western and eastern rivers between Pakistan and India. It brought in the concept of water sharing, dispute settlement mechanism and Basin administration fund.  The treaty provided the lower riparian state with a network of canals, barrages and dams. It provided the Pakistani state with two of the largest dams Mangla and Tarbela. Until now the treaty has been hailed as a big accomplishment between both the kin states as it withstood the test of time but now it has come under a lot of strain due to a decline of water flow in the Indus River system. When Pakistan and India became separate entities in 1947, the Indus Basin had sufficient water for everyone. Half of the Indus waters were flowing into the Arabian Sea almost unused then. So did India drank all the water or was Pakistan so thirsty that it gulped down all the river water?
The demand of water has risen due to unbridled population growth whereas its supply has become less. The declining of the river waters is a serious issue. Due to a change in the climate, the glaciers are fast receding due to which the water levels are also declining.  Asian Development Bank has labeled Pakistan as the world’s most water stressed state with the shortage becoming acute by 2020.
The successive Pakistani governments have ignored the water problem which has culminated into a serious situation. Today the country faces water and power shortage but, shockingly, the policy makers have never given water the status of a core national interest. Thus, India has been working fast for conserving water whereas Pakistan had been stuck on the vital projects like the Kalabagh Dam.
The blessings of the treaty include our mega dams. But in light of climate, population and unlimited Indian dam construction, the Indus Water Treaty needs to be revised. Unlike the Indians, the Pakistani side did little for conserving water. India has not only utilized its own river waters but has also focused on the western waters feeding Pakistan. What the government is doing about this precarious situation is only putting the blame on Indians. Water is a serious problem – more than the Zulfiqar/Benazir Bhutto murders, memogate and mehrangate issues.  Thus, the government better wake up from its slumber and the rallies of difa-i-Pakistan should focus more on conserving water rather than inciting the masses against either the US or India.