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Water is crucial for economic growth, urban development, and human well-being in any country. However, Pakistan faces significant challenges in water management, particularly in large metropolitan cities such as Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, and Karachi. Rapid urbanisation and increasing water demand have strained the water resources in these areas. The urban water sector in Pakistan faces numerous challenges, including policy misalignment, overlapping mandates, unsustainable urban planning, poor coordination, capacity constraints, and inadequate water resource assessment, all of which collectively contribute to inefficient urban water management.

The Water-Sensitive Cities (WSCs) framework advocates for cities that integrate water management with urban planning to achieve sustainability, focusing on water conservation, urban resilience, and environmental protection. Initially developed and implemented in Australia, this framework promotes best practices in urban water management, including decentralised solutions such as rainwater harvesting, managed aquifer recharge, green infrastructure, and community participation in water governance. By prioritising and integrating water into urban design and planning, the WSC approach enables cities to transition toward long-term sustainability and resilience.

Pakistan’s fragmented governance system leads to inefficiencies, as multiple institutions at the federal, provincial, and local levels have overlapping responsibilities. The lack of........

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