WATER scarcity is no longer a distant threat for Pakistan; it is a crisis already unfolding in the lives of millions. Pakistan ranks among the countries facing extremely high water risk, while more than 80 percent of its population is exposed to severe water scarcity. Yet the crisis is not merely about having too little water. Increasingly, the deeper problem is that the water available to people is often unsafe to drink. Pakistan’s water crisis has therefore moved beyond drought, rationing and failing infrastructure. It is becoming a public health emergency, with contaminated drinking water contributing to a growing burden of disease, including concerns over kidney health. The United Nations recognises access to safe drinking water and sanitation as a human right, essential to human dignity and health. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has repeatedly warned that unsafe drinking water is a major source of disease because microbial and chemical contamination can directly threaten human health.

In Pakistan, contaminated water enters daily life through municipal supplies, hand pumps, canals and groundwater. This creates a particularly dangerous situation: water may be physically available, yet still be unfit for human consumption. In such circumstances, the right to water becomes meaningless if the water reaching households carries invisible health risks. The scale of the........

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