Speaker NA urges federal, provincial govts to take steps aimed at conserving water

ISLAMABAD: Speaker National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq has said that Parliament House will launch a project for harvesting and storing rainwater, urging the federal and provincial governments to take practical measures to conserve the country’s scarce water resources.

Addressing at a parliamentary seminar on Water Governance, titled “Evidence from Local, Low-Cost Solutions for Water Security and Flood Resilience,” hosted by the SDGs Secretariat, Speaker said the Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) had been asked to conduct a feasibility study for rainwater harvesting at Parliament House.

He said he would also ask the chairman Capital Development Authority (CDA) to ensure that no new construction project was undertaken without arrangements for rainwater harvesting.

The seminar, titled “Evidence from Local, Low-Cost Solutions for Water Security and Flood Resilience,” was hosted by the SDGs Secretariat and organised by the Parliamentary Task Force on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Sadiq said Pakistan needed to move beyond merely discussing the water crisis and take practical measures to address it.

“We are aware of the problem, but practical measures are almost non-existent,” he said, stressing that the country could not afford to allow valuable rainwater to go to waste.

He said water was no longer merely a sectoral issue but had emerged as a critical matter of national security.

“Water does not belong to any one political party; it is a national issue that concerns the entire country,” he said, adding that access to clean water was a shared national responsibility.

The Speaker said India’s suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty was a clear violation of international law, emphasising the need for national consensus and a long-term strategy to address Pakistan’s water challenges.

He called for making water harvesting a priority for both federal and provincial governments and urged the introduction of sustainable water-recycling systems to improve groundwater levels and conserve precious water resources.

Sadiq also stressed the need for construction of water reservoirs and small dams, saying close cooperation between the federal and provincial governments was essential for effective management of water resources.

He said Pakistan was blessed with abundant water resources, but these needed to be used prudently and efficiently. Effective implementation of the National Water Policy and stronger institutional coordination were essential for sustainable water management, he added.

The Speaker called for transparent utilisation of funds allocated for water-related projects, saying Parliament’s responsibility extended beyond legislation to effective oversight of public policies.

He also highlighted responsible investment, modern technology, reduction of water wastage and restoration of groundwater resources as essential components of a comprehensive water-security strategy.

Sadiq stressed that political differences must be set aside to develop national consensus on the water issue.

“Water security is human security, economic security and national security,” he said.

Convener of the Parliamentary Task Force on SDGs Shaista Pervaiz said water security was not merely an issue of scarcity but also involved sustainable use and management of water resources. She stressed the need to protect and further strengthen the country’s water resources.

Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal said Pakistan had not built a new water reservoir in the last 50 years, stressing the need to increase the storage capacity of existing reservoirs and construct new ones to address the country’s limited and increasingly scarce water resources amid climate change.

Iqbal said the Indian government’s unilateral suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty amounted to water weaponisation against Pakistan. He referred to the disruption of water flows in the River Chenab by withholding water for several days and releasing it at once.

He stressed that Pakistan needed additional water reservoirs to strengthen its capacity to withstand such threats and ensure water security.

The minister also expressed concern over the decline in development financing, noting that the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) had fallen from 2.6 per cent of GDP in 2018 to 0.6 per cent in 2026.

He said the PSDP allocation remained around Rs 1 trillion in both 2018 and 2026, which, after accounting for inflation, represented only about Rs250–300 billion in real terms.

Iqbal stressed the need for effective utilisation of PSDP funds, stronger local government financing and robust disaster-risk financing to scale up proven local solutions across the country.

The seminar was attended by Chairman National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Chairman Indus River System Authority (IRSA), Chairman Federal Flood Commission, Chairman CDA, Additional Secretary Ministry of Water Resources and senior officials, besides representatives of UNDP, World Bank, WaterAid, UNICEF and IWMI.

A large number of parliamentarians also attended the seminar, including Syed Ali QasimGillani, Faisal Amin Khan, Zeb Jaffar, Zahra WadoodFatemi, Kiran Haider, DrShazia Sobia Aslam Soomro, Sher Ali Arbab, Rana Ansar, Akhtar Bibi, Muneeba Iqbal, Mahtab Akbar Rashdi, Sabheen Ghoury, Farah Naz Akbar, Syeda Nosheen Iftikhar, Ghazala Anjum, MahJabeen Khan Abbasi and Shaista Khan.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026