ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has urged Pakistanis to take steps to preserve water resources, including glaciers, for a water-secure future of the country, his office said on Saturday, on the World Water Day.
The World Water Day is an annual United Nations (UN) observance held on March 22 each year that highlights the importance of freshwater. The day is used to advocate for sustainable management of freshwater resources across the globe.
In his message, Sharif said the day, being observed under the theme of “Glacier Preservation” this year, reminds them of the critical role glaciers play in sustaining the planet’s freshwater supplies and of the grave challenges in protecting this essential resource.
“Nearly half of the global population experiences water scarcity for at least part of the year. Billions remain without access to clean drinking water, while water pollution continues to rise at alarming levels. Our wetlands are disappearing three times faster than our forests. This is no longer a distant threat. It is a global crisis that demands immediate and collective action,” Sharif was quoted as saying by his office.
“On this World Water Day, let us reaffirm our resolve to preserve our glaciers, protect our water resources, and work together for a resilient, water-secure future— for our people, our region, and our planet.”
There are a total of 13,000 glaciers in Pakistan and nearly 10,000 of them are receding and expected to cause significant water disruptions, according to Pakistani authorities.
The melting of these glaciers at a fast pace and heavy untimely rains due to climate change put the South Asian country at risk of frequent floods, while at the same time, droughts pose an equally serious threat, with nearly 80 percent of Pakistan’s land categorized as arid or semi-arid and 30 percent of population directly affected by drought-like conditions.
Melting glaciers contribute to rising sea levels, another cause of coastal erosion. The sea level at Karachi rose almost 8 inches (almost 20 centimeters) between 1916 and 2016, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It’s projected to rise another half-inch (about 1.3 centimeters) by 2040.
In areas near the southwestern coastal city of Gwadar, like Pishukan and Ganz, waves have swallowed up mosques, schools, and settlements. There are gashes in the cliffs at the popular picnic spot of Sunset Park and rocks have cascaded onto the shore, while beaches run flat for dozens of kilometers because no structures remain on it.
“Pakistan is among the ten countries most vulnerable to climate change. Our average temperatures are projected to rise faster than the global average,” Sharif said.
“Over three-quarters of our water resources originate outside our borders. That is why Pakistan attaches great importance to transboundary water cooperation.”
He said his government was working to mitigate climate-induced flood risks and reduce drought impacts through ecosystem-based adaptation, and implementing 25 priority interventions from promoting nature-based agriculture and restoring the Indus delta to curbing industrial pollution and investing in green infrastructure.
On World Water Day, PM calls for steps to preserve glaciers for Pakistan’s secure future
https://arab.news/bmzap
On World Water Day, PM calls for steps to preserve glaciers for Pakistan’s secure future
- Pakistan has around 13,000 glaciers, of which nearly 10,000 are receding and expected to cause significant water disruptions
- PM Shehbaz Sharif says Pakistan’s wetlands are disappearing three times faster than its forests and demand immediate action
Pakistan PM meets IAEA chief in Vienna, witnesses nuclear medicine cooperation deal signing
- INMOL Lahore designated as IAEA Collaborating Center to expand cancer treatment cooperation
- Sharif calls sustainable and inclusive development the only path to peace amid global ‘polycrisis’
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi in Vienna on Tuesday and witnessed the signing of a cooperation agreement designating Pakistan’s Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Oncology (INMOL), Lahore, as an IAEA Collaborating Center.
The meeting took place at the Vienna International Center, home to several UN agencies. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Grossi signed the Collaborating Center Agreement on behalf of Pakistan and the IAEA, respectively. The IAEA chief presented a plaque formally designating INMOL as a Collaborating Center, in a ceremony witnessed by Sharif.
“The Prime Minister reaffirmed Pakistan’s support for IAEA’s role in the promotion of responsible use of nuclear technology in areas such as cancer diagnosis and treatment, agriculture, nuclear power generation and industrial applications,” said a statement circulated by Sharif’s office in Islamabad.
“He praised the strong partnership between Pakistan and the IAEA, while observing that Pakistan was not only a beneficiary of the IAEA’s Technical Cooperation Programme but was also contributing to the work of the IAEA through the provision of its experts and conducting international trainings for IAEA Member States,” it added.
The statement said Grossi acknowledged Pakistan’s experience and expertise in the peaceful uses of nuclear technology and commended the quality of its engineers, scientists and technicians.
He maintained Pakistan was well placed to assist other IAEA member states in expanding peaceful nuclear applications and expressed interest in Pakistan’s participation at the Nuclear Energy Summit scheduled in France in March 2026.
The IAEA chief visited Pakistan last year to review cooperation on the peaceful uses of nuclear technology, including cancer diagnosis and treatment, as well as applications in energy and agriculture.
His engagements included visits to Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission cancer hospitals, inauguration of advanced treatment facilities and discussions with Sharif on expanding collaboration under the IAEA’s “Rays of Hope” initiative aimed at improving radiotherapy access in developing countries.
’POLYCRISIS’
Sharif also addressed a special event at the United Nations Office in Vienna, calling for sustainable and inclusive development to be treated as the world’s foremost conflict-prevention strategy, warning that overlapping geopolitical tensions, climate stress and technological disruption are converging into a global “polycrisis.”
“Our world stands at crossroads,” Sharif said. “We face intertwined crises. The defining danger of our time is not any single threat, rather it’s the combination of many.”
“Geopolitical hostility, climate stress, and technological disruption are all converging into a single destabilizing force,” he added. “The planet is facing a moment of polycrisis.”
Sharif argued that sustainable and inclusive development was the most effective long-term strategy to prevent conflict, stressing that developing nations bore the heaviest burden of climate change despite contributing the least to global emissions.
“Pakistan’s own experience is illustrative,” he said. “We stand at the front lines of the climate crisis, not through any fault of ours, but as one of its most disproportionate victims.”
He said Pakistan, which contributes less than one percent of global emissions, continues to face severe climate impacts, including devastating floods in recent years that destroyed homes, farmland and infrastructure.
Sharif also called for strengthening multilateral institutions, including the United Nations system, to better address emerging global challenges and ensure that innovation and new technologies benefit all countries rather than deepen existing divides.
