After years of difficult negotiations facilitated by the World Bank, India and Pakistan agreed upon a framework for sharing the waters of the Indus system.

For Pakistan, uncertainty over the Indus waters is not an abstract diplomatic question.

And perhaps that is the deepest message of World Rivers Day: water is life, rivers are civilisation, and responsible stewardship of shared waters is a duty owed not only to nations, but to humanity itself.

Today, 27 September, the world observes World Rivers Day—a day devoted to reminding humanity of something so familiar that we often forget its true worth: the river. Why was there a need to dedicate a day to rivers? Because rivers are not merely streams of flowing water. They are the arteries of civilisation, the silent witnesses of history, the nourishment of fields, the source of energy, and, in the deepest sense, reflections of life itself.

The Holy Qur’an repeatedly draws our attention to water and to the rivers that flow beneath gardens and through the landscapes of creation. Water is presented not merely as a material necessity but as one of the signs of Allah’s mercy and creative power. The Qur’an asks mankind to contemplate the rain, the earth brought back to life, and the rivers that sustain creation. Indeed, the very story of human civilisation is inseparable from rivers. Great societies arose beside them, cultivated their lands through them, and built their prosperity around their waters.

Pakistan, too, is a blessed land of rivers. The mighty Indus and its tributaries—the Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Sutlej and others—have shaped our geography, economy and civilisation. They irrigate our fields, sustain our farmers, support our livestock, feed our cities, generate hydropower and preserve ecosystems upon which millions........

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