ISLAMABAD (03 November 2026): Water experts have called for shared efforts to address common water security challenges in South Asia, particularly between Pakistan and India, stressing that cooperation, effective water management and respect for international agreements were essential to prevent further tensions and safeguard the region’s future.
Speaking at a discussion titled “Water Security, Hydro-Diplomacy & Regional Peace”, organized by Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), the speakers emphasized that Pakistan needed to pursue its rights under the Indus Waters Treaty at bilateral and international forums while strengthening its domestic water governance, implementing existing policies and improving conservation practices.
Chairperson of the Board of Governors of the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), Ambassador Shafqat Kakakhel, described water as an existential issue, saying it was the fundamental prerequisite for all forms of life.
He said the Indus Waters Treaty was an extraordinary agreement negotiated at a time when international water law was still underdeveloped. The treaty not only prevented a potentially devastating conflict between Pakistan and India but also established principles that were subsequently incorporated into the United Nations Watercourses Convention.
Former chairman of the Federal Flood Commission under the Ministry of Water Resources, Ahmed Kamal, said Pakistan could not afford to treat the Indus Waters Treaty as a matter of history, particularly when India was pursuing projects on the ground.
“If we say that now it is going to be history, probably then we are going to put ourselves into trouble rather than, you know, what India is going to have, because they have got their own plans,” he said, adding that India had eight projects on the ground, including one for which a bid had already been made and civil works were probably underway.
National Defence University academic Dr Shaheen Akhtar said regional cooperation had considerable potential to strengthen water security, although the suspension of SAARC’s activities and strained relations between Pakistan and India had weakened prospects for collective action.
She said the Indus Waters Treaty remained the strongest water-sharing framework in the region, containing detailed provisions governing the rights of both countries and technical requirements for run-of-the-river projects.
Global development leader Nabeel Goheer said the water dispute was much broader than a sectoral or security issue, linking it to economic development, human welfare, climate change and relations between the two countries.
Speaking at another session, titled: SPHF – The World’s Largest post -Disaster Housing Reconstruction Programme, the World Bank Country Director for Pakistan Bolormaa Amgaabazar has said completing one million houses within a few years was an unprecedented achievement, and it is hoped that the Sindh People’s Housing for Flood Affectees (SPHF)programme would meet its overall target of approximately 2.1 million homes.
Representatives of the European Union (EU), World Bank and Asian Development Bank (ADB) described the initiative as an example for other countries struggling with climate disasters, poverty and inadequate housing. The said programme mainly aims to alleviate poverty and help the poor to have their own shelters.
Dr Emma Xiaoqin Fan, the Country Director of Asian Development Bank for Pakistan, termed the initiative an internationally significant development success, saying its scale, speed and inclusive approach offered valuable lessons for housing finance operations in other countries. She said conventional housing finance models generally relied on banks and financial intermediaries, which largely served bankable households, leaving extremely poor and unbankable families outside the formal financial system.
Pakistan’s experience, she added, demonstrated that a sustainable and inclusive approach could extend housing support to previously underserved populations while generating wider benefits through land access, skills development, employment and financial inclusion.
Speaking at a session, titled: “From Skills to Economic Independence: Expanding Opportunities for Women, experts have explored strategies to bridge existing gaps, expand access to economic opportunities and strengthen women’s participation in the workforce and broader economy.
Member of National Assembly Shaista Pervaiz Malik noted that while skills are the “key” and economic empowerment is the “house”, five critical doors in between them require to be opened: skills, safety, capital, markets and health.
She stressed the need to examine what institutional and market-level changes are required across these five areas to remove existing barriers and create an enabling environment where women can fully participate in and benefit from economic opportunities.
SDPI Executive Director Dr Abid Qaiyum Suleri highlighted the importance of what he described as a “golden triangle” of skills, finance and market access, noting that all three elements must be in place and work in tandem to translate women’s skills into meaningful economic opportunities. He called for broadening the discussion to include the insurance and microfinance sectors.
Meanwhile, speaking at a session, titled: “Strengthening Power Systems for Energy Transition in South Asia”, Ms Mikiko Tanaka, Director and Head of the UNESCAP Subregional Office for South and South-West Asia, said the growing share of solar and wind in Asia-Pacific had made the seasonal variability of these resources a critical issue. She said the region faced inadequate transmission infrastructure, regulatory and institutional challenges, and financial constraints on grid upgrades. Stronger grids and integrated systems, she added, could help countries electrify their economies.
Mohammad Solaiman, Deputy Secretary at the Power Division of Bangladesh’s Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources, said his country’s earlier focus on adding generation, with capacity payments and little competitive bidding, had become a heavy burden on the economy. He said the recent regional energy crisis had exposed Bangladesh’s dependence on imported fuel.
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