Rethinking Drinking Water Policies in Pakistan
Imagine living in a country where every glass of water you drink could make you sick. This is the grim reality for millions of Pakistanis today who can’t drink tap water without risking their health. Tap water is not drinkable for almost everyone whether living in rural or urban areas or even staying in a five-star hotel of Pakistan. Pakistan is among the top 7 countries that host 90% of sick population1. 40% children under 5 are stunted in Pakistan as compared to South Asian average of 31%2. As per the National Nutrition Survey & Multi Cluster Indicator Survey (MICS) reports, poor access to safe drinking water is a major contributor behind these alarming health statistics."
The Government of Pakistan formulated the National Drinking Water Policy in 2009 and the National Water Policy in 2018 to ensure access to safe drinking water for its citizens. However, the 18th Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan devolved responsibilities for health, water and sanitation to provincial governments. Consequently, the provinces developed their own policies such as the Sindh Water Policy - 2023, Sindh Drinking Water Policy - 2017, Punjab Drinking Water Policy – 2011, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Drinking Water Policy 2015 and Balochistan Drinking Water Policy 2015.
Just visualise the horror of discovering that something as basic as water can take your child's life. In April 2024, five children—Mureed Bhatti (8), Mumtaz (3), Rashid Ali (5), Sania (4), and Zamira (4)—died from drinking contaminated water in Sanghar3. Their tragic deaths devastated families and shook the community, highlighting the daily dangers millions face across Pakistan. According to UNICEF, 53,000 children die every year in Pakistan due to diarrhoea caused by consuming contaminated water. Meanwhile, Karachi faced yet another Cholera outbreak—a stark reminder that over 80% of our population drinks water tainted with E. coli. er. Cholera remains a recurring phenomenon in Sindh for the last couple of years. This is not because of scarcity of fresh water or lack of financial resources owing to incessant economic crisis limiting government to provide safe drinking rather it is because of the deep-rooted structural issue in the legislation and policies related to drinking water. Despite numerous national and provincial policies, the lack of integrated and effective implementation continues to poison our water supply and endanger our citizens.
Firstly, the 1973 Constitution of Pakistan does not explicitly recognize access to safe drinking water as a fundamental human right of its citizens, which would create a constitutional obligation for federal and provincial governments to ensure its provision. Although the United Nations General Assembly declared access to safe drinking water a human right in 2010, Pakistani parliamentarians have not yet taken collective action to address this pervasive issue.
Secondly, while the 18th amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan has empowered provinces to formulate contextualized policies and strategies for social development subjects like water.
Yet the Federal Government lacks a national policy framework for safe drinking water. This framework could provide strategic guidance to the provincial governments to formulate holistic and integrated policies for safe drinking water. As a result, most drinking water policies formulated by the provinces are limited to the mandates of single department such as the Public Health Engineering Department (PHED), which primarily serves rural areas.
These policies often fail to integrate with other relevant departments, such as health, local government, and the Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR), missing opportunities to leverage existing resources, expertise and infrastructure of other departments. Most of these policies also don’t take into account climate consideration which is a threatening phenomenon to the wellbeing of natural resource and human lives.
The problem lies not in water scarcity but in the protection of freshwater sources. Since safe drinking water is not recognized as fundamental human right in the Constitution of Pakistan - 1973 so there is lack of laws and regulatory frameworks for ensuring protection and conservation of surface and ground water sources. This has given freedom to everyone and anyone to dispose of its solid and liquid waste in surface and ground water sources. The state and the society simply seem to consider the rivers and freshwater streams just a dumping point for solid and liquid waste instead of considering these as strategic assets for the country.
Wastewater Digest reports that only 8% of municipal wastewater and 1% of industrial wastewater are treated before being discharged into rivers.4 Additionally, Earth.org identifies the Ravi River in Pakistan as the most polluted river globally.5
Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s "Rime of the Ancient Mariner” aptly describes Pakistan’s water crisis: “Water, water everywhere, nor any drop to drink.” Just taking one stern step of protection of fresh water sources such as rivers and streams from untreated sewage and industrial waste, Pakistan can not only save billions of rupees on installation of water filtration plants but can also save on public health expenditures for treating water-borne diseases.
Our fate is writ in our waters. Any mantra of economic revival without taking into account accessibility of safe drinking water for all is flawed and bound to fail in the long run. Pakistan cannot sustainably revive its economy or achieve its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)— including zero hunger, good health and well-being, quality education, gender equality, decent work, economic growth, and sustainable communities—without ensuring equitable access to safe drinking.
A comprehensive national policy framework urging provinces to adopt integrated, data-driven, holistic and climate-adaptive drinking water policies with costed plans is crucial. Such an approach would not only help avert the drinking water crisis but also significantly impact the national economy. Studies show that access to safe drinking water reduces health-related expenditures for both vulnerable households and the state, decreases school dropout rates, and enhances labor productivity, which is currently low compared to other regional countries. The recently established National Economic Transformation Unit (NETU) of Ministry of Planning, Development & Special Initiative and Ministry of Finance must recognise that ensuring every glass of water safe and accessible for everyone is crucial for significantly improving Pakistan’s social development indices including the Human Development Index, Global Hunger Index and Global Gender Gap Index.
Article authored by: Muhammad Fazal, Head of Programme Strategy and Policy, WaterAid Pakistan
[1] References:
1. Analysis of Infectious Communicable and Noncommunicable Diseases In Pakistan: A Systematic Review by Saeed Anjum Buriro et al Published in Journal of Population Therapeutics and Clinical Pharmacology.
2. Addressing Pakistan’s high level of stunting, now! Ziauddin Hyder, Lire Ersado,June 13, 2023 – World Bank Blog.
3. https://arynews.tv/sanghar-five-children-die-after-drinking-water-from-borewell/
4. https://www.wwdmag.com/wastewater-treatment/news/10936838/major-rivers-in-pakistan-contaminated-by-substantial-water-pollution
5. https://earth.org/most-polluted-river-in-the-world-pharmaceutical-pollution/#:~:text=But%20according%20to%20a%202022,drugs%20in%20the%20water%20body.