KARACHI: More than 21.6 million people in Pakistan lack access to clean water, according to data collected through the UN’s Joint Monitoring Program, and released by the charity WaterAid.
The report “Water Gap The State of the World’s Water 2018” was released on Wednesday, in connection with World Water Day.
WaterAid’s report said that while 88.5 percent people have access to clean water close to home, there was a big gap between rich and poor — 79.2 percent of the poorest people had clean water compared with 98 percent of the country’s richest.
It was found that Sindh province had the worst water conditions with about 80 percent of supply to the province found unfit for human consumption.
In 2016 the Supreme Court set up a commission to explore water quality supply in the province.
“Only 85 water samples out of 336 collected from several districts for detailed physicochemical and microbiological parameters were fit for human consumption while 251 were found unsafe,” the commission said in a report submitted to the apex court in March 2017.
The Chief Secretary of Sindh in his statement before the judicial commission, submitted to the court in March 2017, admitted that the provincial administration of Sindh was responsible for providing basic facilities to all citizens.
The secretary had also submitted a list of 22 water and sanitation projects worth billions of rupees that were undertaken by different government and private partners across the Sindh province.
“The Chief Minister of Sindh is giving top priority to the water issue under the Sindh drinking water policy 2017,” Rasheed Channa, spokesman for Syed Murad Ali Shah, Chief Minister Sindh, told Arab News on Thursday.
He added that the chief minister believed the federal government was not properly funding water reservoir projects in the province.
“The issue will be raised again in the meeting of Council of Common Interest, a constitutional body which resolves disputes between the federation and the provinces,” Channa said.
Nadeem Ahmed, manager policy at WaterAid Pakistan, told Arab News that the government should take steps to ensure water treatment plants at every level.
“Around 90 percent water is not treated in Pakistan, and Sindh being the tail-end user, has become most vulnerable,” he said, adding: “One gallon of untreated water contaminates eight gallons of clean water.”
WaterAid says that every year around 289,000 children under five die of diarrhea directly linked to dirty water, inadequate toilet facilities and poor hygiene.
“Diarrhea, skin conditions and (many types of) infections, can all be linked to dirty water, alongside poor sanitation and poor hygiene. One in four newborn deaths are due to infections,” the organization says in its report.
Shahab Usto, the lawyer who filed the Supreme Court petition, told Arab News that around 450 million gallons per day of untreated water is being released in the sea. Around 90 percent water in Karachi is being supplied untreated and the situation is not different in other parts of Sindh province”, he added.
“If we will fail to provide safe drinking water to the people of Sindh, the province will become a colony of sick people in next 10 years”, Usto warned.
Pakistan battles to bring clean water to Sindh province
Pakistan battles to bring clean water to Sindh province
Pakistan, Muslim countries reject Israel’s plan to expel Palestinians from Gaza
- Israel has announced plans to open the Rafah crossing with Egypt for Gaza residents fleeing the enclave
- Muslim nations seek implementation of Trump’s peace plan, establishment of independent Palestinian state
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan, together with seven other Arab and Muslim countries, on Friday rejected Israel’s attempt to expel Palestinians by opening the Rafah border crossing with Egypt solely for fleeing Gaza residents, and called for adherence to the peace plan proposed by US President Donald Trump’s administration.
Trump’s Gaza plan calls on Israel to allow humanitarian aid into the territory and keep the Rafah crossing open from both sides.
However, Israel has continued to restrict aid flows, and its military said on Wednesday the crossing would open in the coming days “exclusively for the exit of residents from the Gaza Strip to Egypt.”
“The Foreign Ministers of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, the Republic of Indonesia, the Republic of Türkiye, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the State of Qatar express their deep concern regarding the Israeli statements concerning the opening of the Rafah Crossing in one direction, with the aim of transferring residents of the Gaza Strip into the Arab Republic of Egypt,” said the joint statement circulated in Pakistan by the foreign office.
“The Ministers underscore their absolute rejection of any attempts to expel the Palestinian people from their land and stress the necessity of the full adherence to the plan proposed by US President Donald Trump, including its provisions on keeping the Rafah Crossing open in both directions, ensuring the freedom of movement for the population, and refraining from compelling any resident of the Gaza Strip to leave,” it continued.
The statement appreciated the US president’s commitment to establishing peace in the region and emphasized the importance of implementing his plan “without delay or obstruction” to help consolidate regional stability.
“The Ministers underscore the need to fully sustain the ceasefire, alleviate civilian suffering, ensure the unrestricted entry of humanitarian assistance into the Gaza Strip, initiate early recovery and reconstruction efforts, and create the conditions necessary for the Palestinian Authority to resume its responsibilities in the Gaza Strip,” the statement added.
They reaffirmed their countries’ readiness to work with the United States and all concerned regional and international actors to achieve “a just, comprehensive, and sustainable peace in accordance with international legitimacy and the two-state solution,” including the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the pre-1967 lines with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Pakistan’s foreign office circulated the statement after Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar held a telephone conversation with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan to discuss regional developments, particularly Gaza.
Dar condemned Israel’s plan to partially reopen the Rafah crossing only for fleeing Gaza residents, calling it a “clear violation” of the region’s peace plan.
