DAWN Editorials - 22nd March 2025
Posted: Sat Mar 22, 2025 2:20 pm
Running on empty
“WHEN the well is dry, we know the worth of water.” These words by Benjamin Franklin ring especially true for Pakistan today, as the country inches closer to a full-blown water emergency.
Marked each year on March 22, World Water Day should serve to remind the country’s rulers that the water crisis confronting us threatens not only our food security and public health, but the very survival of our future generations. The signs are all around us: near-drought conditions across large swathes of the country, shrinking reservoirs, erratic rainfall patterns, and mounting pressure on an already fragile water management system.
As of mid-March, water levels in Mangla stood at 320m — its minimum operating level — with Tarbela not even 2m above its own dead level. Chashma reservoir too is near depletion. According to Irsa, Sindh is facing a 50pc water shortage, while Punjab is not far behind. The impact on agriculture is already visible. Wheat crops, currently at their final watering stage, are at risk of under-yielding. Sugarcane, vegetables, and fruit orchards — especially mango groves in Sindh’s Nara Canal zone — are parched. Cotton sowing is also being delayed or compromised, jeopardising one of Pakistan’s most vital cash crops. Experts warn that crop shedding, stunted yields, and economic losses are now inevitable unless water becomes available in the coming weeks.
Add to this the accelerating glacier melt in the north and erratic rainfall in the catchment areas, and Pakistan’s future water outlook grows even more precarious. Yet, despite these alarming signals, we continue to squander what little water we have. Outdated irrigation techniques, wasteful crop choices in arid regions, unregulated groundwater extraction, and urban leakage all contribute to the crisis.
Our per capita water availability level, at sub-900 cubic metres, is dangerously close to the threshold of absolute water scarcity. Yet, our water policy remains largely reactive and politically neglected. This situation is no longer just an environmental concern — it is a full-blown national emergency and must be declared as such.
Serious investment needs to be made in modern irrigation systems such as drip sprinkler technologies. Crop zoning must be enforced to curb the cultivation of high water-consuming crops in low-yield regions. The 1991 Water Accord must be fully implemented in both spirit and detail — including new reservoirs, equitable distribution mechanisms, and environmental protections. At the urban level, water metering, leak detection, and wastewater recycling should be mandatory components of municipal planning. Groundwater extraction must be regulated through permits and pricing to prevent aquifer depletion. On this World Water Day, Pakistan must recognise that its survival depends on how it chooses to manage — or mismanage — what remains of this resource.
Published in Dawn, March 22nd, 2025
Another ultimatum
THESE are fraught times, but the government must still find it in its heart to be a little more accommodating. Despite concerns, the Foreign Office has issued yet another warning for all Afghan Citizen Card holders and undocumented migrants to leave by the end of this month. The interior ministry has vowed to start mass deportations if they do not do so voluntarily, according to an official notice issued earlier, raising the prospect of another round of forced displacement for an already suffering people. The state’s ‘hard’ stance on foreigners residing in Pakistan without visas was evident in the FO spokesperson’s remarks on Thursday, in which he brusquely dismissed the concerns raised by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and other agencies regarding the mass repatriation of refugees and asylum seekers. Reminding the audience that Pakistan is not a member of the Refugee Convention and that everything it has done for the refugees has been done “voluntarily”, he asserted that the Pakistani state considers Afghans to have overstayed their welcome. The state’s weariness and wariness is understandable, but it can still show patience.
There are many transit refugees currently in Pakistan who fled after the return of the Taliban regime and have been awaiting visas for various other countries. Instead of dangling the threat of deportation over their necks, Pakistan must approach the diplomatic representatives of these countries and impress upon them that their visa processes must be expedited. Many of these individuals and families could face real harm if sent back to Afghanistan, and there is a moral responsibility to ensure that they get passage to safer countries in time. Likewise, Islamabad should also reconsider how it is treating registered refugees. Many of them have now spent years or even decades in Pakistan, and it seems cruel to punish them for the Taliban regime’s failures. The goodwill Pakistan has accumulated over decades for its hospitality towards them should not be erased over a diplomatic issue. That leaves those who have consistently been evading the system while residing in this country. There is sound justification for asking such refugees to leave and return if they wish with a valid visa, but care should still be taken not to injure their dignity. After all these years, there is no reason to give them cause to view Pakistan with hostility.
Published in Dawn, March 22nd, 2025
Muzzled voices
A NEW era of censorship is upon us. The FIA’s arrest of journalist and founder of media agency Raftar, Farhan Mallick, apparently for the digital platform’s content, is the latest incident that strikes at the heart of freedom of expression. The additional director of the agency’s Cybercrime Reporting Centre said that Mr Mallick had been under inquiry for the last three months due to “several programmes against the security establishment”. He has been remanded to FIA custody for alleged Peca violations and defamation; the FIR is lodged under many sections of Peca, PPC Section 109 — “punishment of abetment if the act abetted committed in consequence and where no express provision is made for its punishment” — and Section 500 — “punishment for defamation”. It states “…the alleged person is involved in generating and disseminating posts and videos related to Anti-State consist of fake news and public incitement agenda…” This detention, which has been condemned by media associations and rights activists, has raised troubling questions about the reasons for false and fake information and the impact of deepening suppression.
The mounting manipulation of the media and digital platforms by a hardened regulatory regime, propelled by the political impulses of unelected elements, erodes integrity, authenticity and authority. Overt and covert ways to freeze honest voices through a draconian law reveal the state’s desire to play judge for its own self and decide what ‘content’ related to it is disingenuous. In doing so, it ends up betraying a discomfort with democratic values. Controversy and criticism from journalists and digital rights activists for ambiguous provisos that enable state interference have stalked Peca since its birth in 2016. Citizens should know that if fundamental freedoms are not fought for, oppression will consume all avenues. Meanwhile, the government must understand that silencing discourse creates a crisis of credibility in traditional media and makes space for unreliable narratives to flourish.
Published in Dawn, March 22nd, 2025
“WHEN the well is dry, we know the worth of water.” These words by Benjamin Franklin ring especially true for Pakistan today, as the country inches closer to a full-blown water emergency.
Marked each year on March 22, World Water Day should serve to remind the country’s rulers that the water crisis confronting us threatens not only our food security and public health, but the very survival of our future generations. The signs are all around us: near-drought conditions across large swathes of the country, shrinking reservoirs, erratic rainfall patterns, and mounting pressure on an already fragile water management system.
As of mid-March, water levels in Mangla stood at 320m — its minimum operating level — with Tarbela not even 2m above its own dead level. Chashma reservoir too is near depletion. According to Irsa, Sindh is facing a 50pc water shortage, while Punjab is not far behind. The impact on agriculture is already visible. Wheat crops, currently at their final watering stage, are at risk of under-yielding. Sugarcane, vegetables, and fruit orchards — especially mango groves in Sindh’s Nara Canal zone — are parched. Cotton sowing is also being delayed or compromised, jeopardising one of Pakistan’s most vital cash crops. Experts warn that crop shedding, stunted yields, and economic losses are now inevitable unless water becomes available in the coming weeks.
Add to this the accelerating glacier melt in the north and erratic rainfall in the catchment areas, and Pakistan’s future water outlook grows even more precarious. Yet, despite these alarming signals, we continue to squander what little water we have. Outdated irrigation techniques, wasteful crop choices in arid regions, unregulated groundwater extraction, and urban leakage all contribute to the crisis.
Our per capita water availability level, at sub-900 cubic metres, is dangerously close to the threshold of absolute water scarcity. Yet, our water policy remains largely reactive and politically neglected. This situation is no longer just an environmental concern — it is a full-blown national emergency and must be declared as such.
Serious investment needs to be made in modern irrigation systems such as drip sprinkler technologies. Crop zoning must be enforced to curb the cultivation of high water-consuming crops in low-yield regions. The 1991 Water Accord must be fully implemented in both spirit and detail — including new reservoirs, equitable distribution mechanisms, and environmental protections. At the urban level, water metering, leak detection, and wastewater recycling should be mandatory components of municipal planning. Groundwater extraction must be regulated through permits and pricing to prevent aquifer depletion. On this World Water Day, Pakistan must recognise that its survival depends on how it chooses to manage — or mismanage — what remains of this resource.
Published in Dawn, March 22nd, 2025
Another ultimatum
THESE are fraught times, but the government must still find it in its heart to be a little more accommodating. Despite concerns, the Foreign Office has issued yet another warning for all Afghan Citizen Card holders and undocumented migrants to leave by the end of this month. The interior ministry has vowed to start mass deportations if they do not do so voluntarily, according to an official notice issued earlier, raising the prospect of another round of forced displacement for an already suffering people. The state’s ‘hard’ stance on foreigners residing in Pakistan without visas was evident in the FO spokesperson’s remarks on Thursday, in which he brusquely dismissed the concerns raised by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and other agencies regarding the mass repatriation of refugees and asylum seekers. Reminding the audience that Pakistan is not a member of the Refugee Convention and that everything it has done for the refugees has been done “voluntarily”, he asserted that the Pakistani state considers Afghans to have overstayed their welcome. The state’s weariness and wariness is understandable, but it can still show patience.
There are many transit refugees currently in Pakistan who fled after the return of the Taliban regime and have been awaiting visas for various other countries. Instead of dangling the threat of deportation over their necks, Pakistan must approach the diplomatic representatives of these countries and impress upon them that their visa processes must be expedited. Many of these individuals and families could face real harm if sent back to Afghanistan, and there is a moral responsibility to ensure that they get passage to safer countries in time. Likewise, Islamabad should also reconsider how it is treating registered refugees. Many of them have now spent years or even decades in Pakistan, and it seems cruel to punish them for the Taliban regime’s failures. The goodwill Pakistan has accumulated over decades for its hospitality towards them should not be erased over a diplomatic issue. That leaves those who have consistently been evading the system while residing in this country. There is sound justification for asking such refugees to leave and return if they wish with a valid visa, but care should still be taken not to injure their dignity. After all these years, there is no reason to give them cause to view Pakistan with hostility.
Published in Dawn, March 22nd, 2025
Muzzled voices
A NEW era of censorship is upon us. The FIA’s arrest of journalist and founder of media agency Raftar, Farhan Mallick, apparently for the digital platform’s content, is the latest incident that strikes at the heart of freedom of expression. The additional director of the agency’s Cybercrime Reporting Centre said that Mr Mallick had been under inquiry for the last three months due to “several programmes against the security establishment”. He has been remanded to FIA custody for alleged Peca violations and defamation; the FIR is lodged under many sections of Peca, PPC Section 109 — “punishment of abetment if the act abetted committed in consequence and where no express provision is made for its punishment” — and Section 500 — “punishment for defamation”. It states “…the alleged person is involved in generating and disseminating posts and videos related to Anti-State consist of fake news and public incitement agenda…” This detention, which has been condemned by media associations and rights activists, has raised troubling questions about the reasons for false and fake information and the impact of deepening suppression.
The mounting manipulation of the media and digital platforms by a hardened regulatory regime, propelled by the political impulses of unelected elements, erodes integrity, authenticity and authority. Overt and covert ways to freeze honest voices through a draconian law reveal the state’s desire to play judge for its own self and decide what ‘content’ related to it is disingenuous. In doing so, it ends up betraying a discomfort with democratic values. Controversy and criticism from journalists and digital rights activists for ambiguous provisos that enable state interference have stalked Peca since its birth in 2016. Citizens should know that if fundamental freedoms are not fought for, oppression will consume all avenues. Meanwhile, the government must understand that silencing discourse creates a crisis of credibility in traditional media and makes space for unreliable narratives to flourish.
Published in Dawn, March 22nd, 2025