Pakistan today faces a dual water emergency—crippling scarcity on one hand and recurring floods on the other. Ranked among the world’s most water-stressed countries, the nation’s water woes are aggravated not just by climate change, but also by years of poor governance, industrial negligence, and weak enforcement of environmental policies.

The recent floods that inundated vast areas of Sindh, Punjab, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are only the latest reminder of how fragile and mismanaged Pakistan’s water system has become.

Industrial water mismanagement- Industrial activity, which contributes nearly 20 percent to Pakistan’s GDP, is a key driver of water stress.

Over the last decade, industrial water consumption has surged by nearly 20 percent, with textiles, tanneries, chemicals, and cement industries at the forefront. More than 90 percent of industries, particularly those in Punjab and Sindh, depend on unregulated groundwater extraction. This has not only led to aquifer depletion but also triggered saline intrusion, reducing the availability of freshwater for both domestic and agricultural needs.

The bigger tragedy is the near absence of wastewater treatment. Less than 5 percent of industrial units are equipped with functional effluent treatment plants (ETPs). In Karachi, home to over 6,000 industries, untreated waste—including heavy metals, dyes, and toxic chemicals—is dumped directly into rivers and the Arabian Sea. Lahore, too, contributes hundreds of millions of tons of liquid and solid waste into the Ravi River each year. Such practices not only contaminate surface water but also........

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