Pakistan Faces Absolute Water Scarcity Amid Regional Conflicts

The Government of Pakistan has seen its per capita water availability drop below 1,000 cubic metres, officially crossing the threshold of absolute scarcity. This crisis is the result of simultaneous external pressures from India and Afghanistan and internal provincial instability.

In April 2025, the Government of India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty after a terror attack in Pahalgam killed 26 civilians. This move disrupted critical hydroelectric and irrigation systems across Pakistan. Further compounding the pressure, India provided $250 million in aid to support Afghan water projects, including the Shahtoot Dam.

At the same time, the Taliban-led government of Afghanistan began constructing dams on the Kunar River. This action followed deadly border clashes along the Durand Line and was framed by the Afghan administration as an assertion of "water sovereignty."

Internally, the crisis has triggered civil unrest. In May 2025, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif suspended a six-canal irrigation project after massive protests erupted in Sindh province over water distribution.