ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has no clear record of how much groundwater is being extracted or how many tube wells operating across the country, the Ministry of Water Resources admitted on Wednesday, drawing sharp criticism from Chairperson Senate Standing Committee on Climate Change Senator Sherry Rehman, who warned that this lack of planning and data was pushing the country closer to a catastrophic water crisis.
Presiding over the standing committee meeting at Parliament House, Senator Rehman expressed anger over the ministry’s failure to provide basic figures on groundwater usage, recharge wells, and surface water consumption. “This is a country that the United Nations has already declared water-scarce, yet we don’t even know how many tube wells we have or how much water we are extracting,” she said, demanding that all provinces submit fresh data and plans by the next meeting.
She noted that groundwater depletion has reached alarming levels in several areas, with land in Balochistan and Chitral turning barren and underground water in Sindh and Punjab rapidly drying up. “Farmers in Balochistan are crying for help. They say there’s no water left underground. This is not just climate change — it’s institutional failure,” she remarked.
The committee also took serious note of the recent drowning of a father and daughter in DHA Rawalpindi following flash floods. Senator Rehman slammed the construction of housing societies on natural water channels, saying these were “not natural disasters but man-made tragedies driven by negligence and poor planning”. The committee summoned representatives of the housing society involved and called for a full investigation to determine responsibility.
Senator Rehman revealed that between June 26 and July 22, at least 242 people were killed and 598 injured in rain-related incidents. “Just in the past 24 hours, we’ve lost 21 more lives. These are not isolated events — this is climate change in action, and we are nowhere near prepared,” she warned.
She further criticised the absence of rainwater harvesting initiatives in federal development projects, saying there was no serious work under way on recharge wells, which were essential for replenishing underground aquifers. “The world is prioritising water conservation, while in Pakistan it’s all talk and no action,” she added.
Officials from the Ministry of Water Resources said the country had 0.16 million tube wells in 1975–76, which increased to 1.39 million by 2017–18, but admitted they were unable to provide updated or city-level monitoring data. Senator Rehman instructed provinces to report on groundwater status, recharge wells, and tube well regulation with current figures by the next meeting.
Highlighting the country’s outdated disaster response mechanisms, she said, “We are still using a 1912-era warning system, while the rest of the world is deploying real-time AI-based alerts…Early warning must now be considered a basic human right.” She also expressed concern over emergency conditions in Gilgit-Baltistan and called for a temporary ban on tourist activities in the region.
The committee offered prayers for those who lost their lives during the ongoing monsoon emergency and pledged support for modernising disaster preparedness and climate resilience. The meeting was attended by senators Bushra Anjum Butt, Falak Naz, Syed Waqar Mehdi, and Shahadat Awan, along with senior officials from the ministries of Climate Change and Water Resources, and the Federal Flood Commission. Senator Rehman concluded with a stark warning: “Pakistan is sleepwalking into a water disaster — and we’re not even counting the steps.”