Month: July 2026

Multan: Growing uncertainty over the implementation of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) was intensifying groundwater depletion in South Punjab with experts warning that increased reliance on tubewells was driving up irrigation costs and posing risks to agriculture and water security.

Water experts say Pakistan’s aquifers are under mounting pressure as farmers increasingly depend on groundwater to offset shortages in canal supplies.

While the IWT governs the sharing of surface waters between Pakistan and India, groundwater resources fall outside its scope.

According to experts,Punjab withdraws more than 51 million acre-feet of groundwater annually,making Pakistan one of the world’s largest users of groundwater.

They said water tables in several parts of the province were declining by two to three feet each year,while some urban areas were recording annual declines of more than 2.5 feet.

Experts also cited studies ranking the Indus Basin aquifer among the world’s most stressed groundwater systems with extraction exceeding natural recharge from rainfall and river flows.

The falling water table is particularly affecting South Punjab’s cotton and wheat-growing belt, where farmers say they were being forced to drill deeper tubewells and run pumps for longer periods,increasing diesel and electricity costs.

Agriculture experts warned that rising irrigation costs,coupled with unreliable water supplies could reduce crop yields and degrade soil quality.

Cotton,wheat and vegetable cultivation in districts including Multan, Muzaffargarh and Khanewal was already facing increasing pressure,they added.

The groundwater crisis was also affecting rural households.

Experts said the cost of installing and operating tubewells has risen sharply over the past decade while villages dependent on hand pumps and shallow wells face an increasing risk of water shortages and saline intrusion.

They further warned that Pakistan’s continued export of water-intensive crops such as rice and sugar effectively exports large quantities of groundwater,raising concerns over the country’s long-term food security as water resources continue to decline.

Laique Sheikhana,a landowner from Multan, said groundwater levels had dropped significantly in recent years.

“Tubewells that once required drilling to depths of 80 to 100 feet now have to go much deeper before water is found, adding substantial costs even before cultivation begins,” he said.

Another farmer,Malik Akram, said declining groundwater levels had increased pumping hours and fuel expenses,forcing many small farmers to borrow money to keep their tubewells operational during the cropping season.

Farmers urged the United Nations, the World Bank and other international organizations to play their role in ensuring the implementation of the Indus Waters Treaty,saying the growing pressure on groundwater resources was increasing the financial burden on the agricultural sector.

Faisalabad: Managing Director (MD) Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) Saqib Raza has ordered a major administrative restructuring by transferring the management of roadside drains from Drainage Directorate to Operations Directorate and said that the move is aimed at ensuring a comprehensive and sustainable solution to sewerage problems of the city, particularly during the upcoming monsoon season.

Chairing a high-level meeting, he said that all machinery, equipment and staff currently working under the Roadside Drains Wing would also be transferred to the Operations Directorate to improve coordination and operational efficiency.

He said that the merger of Operations and Maintenance (O and M) Wing with the Roadside Drains Directorate would enable WASA to address sewerage-related issues in a more integrated manner, as roadside drains were directly linked with sewerage network of the city.

He directed Deputy Managing Director Farhan Latif and Directors of Operations and Drainage to hold a joint meeting and finalize all arrangements regarding transfer of staff, machinery and operational responsibilities at the earliest so that efficient drainage services could be ensured during the current monsoon season.

He further directed that once the transfer process was completed, no transfers or postings of the transferred staff would be made until August 31 to maintain continuity in emergency operations and ensure uninterrupted service delivery.

He also instructed the authorities concerned to expedite sewerage improvement projects in Aminpur Bazaar, College Road, Samanabad and the vicinity of Iqbal Stadium.

He emphasized that road restoration and backfilling should be carried out immediately after excavation and pipeline installation to minimize inconvenience to the public and restore normal traffic flow.

Reviewing monsoon preparedness, he directed that all notified Monsoon Emergency Relief Camps must remain fully functional throughout the rainy season, with complete staff attendance and adequate operational readiness.

He ordered the establishment of a special emergency camp in Madina Town equipped with suction machines, dewatering sets and sufficient manpower to ensure an immediate response to urban flooding and sewerage emergencies.

WASA was committed to provide prompt drainage services and adopt proactive measures to protect citizens from waterlogging and sewerage-related problems during the monsoon and all field formations had been instructed to remain on high alert to ensure smooth and efficient drainage operations across the city, he added.

Sukkur: The Finance and Planning Committee (FPC) of Shah Abdul Latif University (SALU) on recommended a budget of Rs4.58 billion for the financial year 2026-27 for approval by the Syndicate.

The 45th FPC meeting was chaired by Vice Chancellor Prof. Dr Yousuf Khushk, said a SAlu release here on Sunday.

Director Finance Qazi Nizamuddin told the meeting that the deficit had been reduced to Rs384.239 million for 2026-27, down from Rs886.654m in 2025-26, a decrease of over 56 per cent. The improvement was attributed to financial reforms, austerity measures and enhanced revenue generation.

He said the university managed *Rs4,105.657m* in grants and revenues against expenditures of Rs4,104.493m in 2025-26. The committee also recommended budgets for the Ghotki and Shahdadkot campuses, study centres and Law College Naushero Feroze.

Speaking at the meeting, Dr Khushk said financial discipline aimed to ‘maximise the impact of every public rupee on students, research and academic quality.’ HEC Islamabad nominee Samer Sibtain and Sindh HEC nominee Feroz Mahar appreciated the transparent budgeting process and gave suggestions for further strengthening fiscal sustainability.

The meeting was also attended by deans, directors, Registrar *Muhammad Hassan Halepoto* and other officials.

Multan: Legal and geopolitical experts have emphasized the importance of preserving the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT),warning that the use of water as a political instrument could trigger humanitarian, ecological and economic crises across South Asia.

Speaking to media, the experts cautioned that retaliatory hydro-politics could endanger millions of people in a region already facing severe environmental stress and food insecurity.

Their remarks came in response to India’s announcement placing the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance following the killing of 26 tourists in a militant attack in Pahalgam,Indian-administered Kashmir.

India has blamed cross-border militants for the incident, an allegation Pakistan has denied.

Dr.Asif Safdar, Assistant Professor of Political Science at Bahauddin Zakariya University (BZU) termed the use of ‘abeyance’ legally ambiguous,saying it does not appear in the treaty nor is it recognized in established international law.

‘There is a humanitarian and ecological cost to turning rivers into weapons,’he said,adding that under international legal frameworks,including the Indus Waters Treaty,the Geneva Conventions’ Additional Protocol I and the UN Watercourses Convention, the deliberate disruption of water flows affecting civilian populations could constitute a serious violation of international law.

Dr.Noraiz Arshad, also from BZU’s Political Science Department, warned that using water as political leverage could escalate tensions and undermine a six-decade-old legal framework governing water sharing between the two countries.

He said such actions represented political choices rather than legal necessity and described the situation as a critical test for international law amid rising geopolitical tensions.

‘Prudence and respect for legal commitments must prevail to prevent further harm,’ he said.

Highlighting Pakistan’s vulnerability,he noted that declining reservoir levels and agricultural stress meant even minor disruptions in river flows could have cascading effects on food security, energy production and public health.

Dr.Muqarrab Akbar,Professor of Political Science said that transboundary rivers were inherently linked to regional security and cannot be subjected to unilateral decisions.

He warned that any attempt to suspend or violate water-sharing arrangements could have consequences extending beyond the immediate region.

The experts noted that the Indus Waters Treaty,brokered by the World Bank in 1960,remains one of the most durable water-sharing agreements between two countries.

Under the treaty,India was allocated the eastern rivers Ravi,Beas and Sutlej while Pakistan received rights over the western rivers Indus,Jhelum and Chenab with limited Indian usage permitted under defined conditions.

They said nearly 80 per cent of Pakistan’s irrigated agriculture depends on the Indus River system with the agriculture sector contributing around one-fifth of GDP and employing a significant share of the labor force.

The experts warned that any prolonged disruption in river flows could impact agricultural output,hydro-power generation, drinking water availability and overall economic stability,underscoring the need to safeguard the Indus Waters Treaty for regional peace and sustainability.

Bahawalpur: Two foreign universities including from China and Turkey have awarded scholarships to the students of Islamia University of Bahawalpur (IUB) for advanced level research. According to a press release issued by the IUB here on Sunday, Adeel Asghar, a student of the Department of Electronics Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, the Islamia University of Bahawalpur, received a 100 percent scholarship for higher education at Hebei University of Technology, China.

‘Another student of the same department of IUB, has also been selected to join the Summer Research Program of Sabanci University, Turkey,’ it said, adding that both these students have achieved these achievements under the supervision of Assistant Professor, Department of Electronics Engineering, Engineer Dr. Dileep Kumar under the Global Undergraduate Research Program. Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Vice Chancellor Prof Dr. Muhammad Kamran and Dean, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Prof Dr. Muhammad Amjad have congratulated both the students while appreciating the efforts of Engineer Dr. Dileep Kumar for providing higher education opportunities in renowned international universities for the students of Jamia Islamia Bahawalpur.

Multan: Food safety teams of the Punjab Food Authority (PFA) carried out major enforcement operations in Multan and Kabirwala, destroying more than 22.5 maunds of unsafe food, imposing Rs130,000 in fines, registering an FIR against operators of an illegal slaughterhouse, and arresting one suspect. According to PFA, the operations were conducted under the supervision of Director Operations South, Ramiz Zafar. Food safety teams inspected a juice plant and a ketchup production unit located at Makhdoom Pur Chowk and Pul Rango in Kabirwala.

During the inspections, officials found the use of substandard ingredients in the preparation of ketchup and sauces, heavy insect infestation in raw material storage areas, poor sanitation arrangements, and fungus-contaminated water tanks. The teams immediately disposed of 15.5 maunds of unsafe ketchup were destroyed on the spot. The juice plant was fined Rs100,000, while the ketchup production unit was penalized Rs30,000 for violating food safety regulations. In a separate operation, food safety officials raided an illegal slaughterhouse in Sameeja Abad, Rehman Pura, Multan, where they recovered more than 6.5 maunds of stale, foul-smelling meat declared unfit for human consumption by a veterinary doctor. The contaminated meat was destroyed immediately, an FIR was registered against those responsible, and one suspect was taken into custody.

Speaking on the occasion, PFA DG Syed Musa Raza reiterated that the authority was implementing a zero-tolerance policy against food adulteration and unsafe food practices. He said continuous monitoring was being carried out at every stage of food production, storage, transportation and sale to ensure the availability of safe and quality food for consumers. He warned that strict legal action would continue against individuals involved in producing substandard food or selling meat from sick or dead animals, emphasizing that public health would not be compromised under any circumstances.