On Thursday, 8^th August, 2025, Mr. Ashfaq Mahmood, conducted a session on “Water Issues of Pakistan” for the participants of the 38^th Senior Management Course (SMC) at the National Institute of Public Administration (NIPA), Lahore.

Mr. Mahmood opened with the division of water resources under the Indus Waters Treaty and highlighted growing threats to Pakistan’s already stressed water supply from India’s persistent attempts to secure greater flows under various pretexts, and Afghanistan’s construction of dams on the Kabul River. Turning inward, he discussed wide seasonal fluctuations, need to store surplus water for lean periods, and impacts of global warming and climate change, which are reshaping monsoon patterns, intensifying extreme events, and increasing variability in river discharges.

Mr. Mahmood reviewed the contours of Pakistan’s National Water Policy, exposing structural, legal, and operational gaps. He underscored Pakistan’s limited water storage capacity, unsustainable groundwater extraction, and inter-provincial contentions on distribution of water. While discussing governance challenges, he also discussed concerns of lower-riparian provinces over large dams, disputes over release schedules, the exclusion of Gilgit-Baltistan and Balochistan from shortage-sharing arrangements, and controversies surrounding IRSA’s chairmanship.

Prescribing solutions for Pakistan’s water woes, Mr. Mahmood suggested both demand and supply side solutions. On the demand-side he, inter alia, recommended efficient irrigation, crop zoning. and modern farming techniques. On the supply-side, he suggested measures focusing on expanding water storage, recharging aquifers, recycling water, and harvesting rain water. He also stressed the need for improved water productivity, private-sector engagement, policy continuity, and above all strong political will to meet Pakistan’s future water needs.

The lecture was followed by an intensive Q&A session.