Official angle: Pakistan's Domestic Affairs — Economic, 20 Marks (links to Indus Waters Treaty page under External Affairs/India)
Background
- Pakistan's per-capita water availability has fallen from ~5,000 m³ (1951) to under 900 m³ today — below the 1,000 m³ water-scarcity threshold.
- Storage capacity covers only ~30 days of demand (vs the recommended 120+ days); Tarbela and Mangla are silting up.
Key Causes of Dam-Construction Delays
- Financing gaps and reliance on external/multilateral loans (World Bank, China) with slow disbursement.
- Inter-provincial mistrust over water distribution (1991 Water Apportionment Accord disputes, especially Sindh's objections to Punjab-favouring projects like the Cholistan/corporate-farming canals controversy in 2024–25).
- Kalabagh Dam remains politically dead due to Sindh/KP opposition.
- Land acquisition, resettlement, and environmental/seismic concerns (Diamer-Bhasha and Dasu sit in a high-risk seismic zone).
- Security risk to Chinese contractors and workers has slowed Dasu Hydropower Project timelines after militant attacks on Chinese engineers.
Current Status (2026)
- Diamer-Bhasha Dam construction continues but remains years behind original schedules; Dasu Hydropower Stage-I units are being progressively commissioned.
- The India-held-in-abeyance Indus Waters Treaty (since April 2025, following the Pahalgam crisis) has sharpened Pakistan's urgency to expand its own storage as a hedge against upstream flow manipulation.
Suggestions
- Ring-fenced dam financing (dedicated water/power surcharge), transparent inter-provincial water accounting via IRSA telemetry, accelerated Diamer-Bhasha/Dasu completion, small/medium dam construction in KP and Balochistan, and drip-irrigation incentives to cut agricultural wastage (currently ~60% of water use, much of it lost).
CSS Exam Angle
Combine engineering-financing causes with federal-provincial trust deficit and the India dimension for a comprehensive answer.
Expanded Material for a Full 20-Mark Answer
Introduction (write-up)
Pakistan's transformation from a water-abundant to a water-stressed nation within three generations — per-capita availability falling from ~5,000 m³ in 1951 to under 900 m³ today — represents one of the country's gravest long-term existential challenges, made more urgent by India's April 2025 decision to hold the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance following the Pahalgam crisis.