To save Pakistan from impending water disaster, five year plan and vision 2025 adopts proactive approach: Ahsan Iqbal

Islamabad, February 27, 2014 (PPI-OT): Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Reforms, Professor Ahsan Iqbal, while delivering his inaugural Address at the Conference ‘National Consultations on Water in Post-2015 Development Agenda’, said” Pakistan, which has turned from a water surplus country into a water deficit country, is in danger to face water disaster in next ten years due to lack of policy and shying off from tackling the issue.

We need to adopt a proactive approach and try to understand the future problems and develop capacities to face challenges and convert them into opportunities. Use of scientific technology is the key. Issue of water scarcity and the conservation of this precious resource is a key element of our five year plan and Vision 2025.

We all know that our water resources are diminishing due to silting in Dams, Climate change, decreasing water supply, and diminishing underground water, we all know the solution but what we lack is implementation. So we should move from knowing to doing. Status quo is a recipe for sure death and as a progressive society we should sensitize general public through media towards gravity of crisis and conserve available water”.

The Conference was conducted by Ministry of Planning, Reforms and Development considering the urgency of the subject. Secretary Planning, Development and Reforms, Mr. Hassan Nawaz Tarrar, said that we need to work on shaping the behaviors and attitudes of people that how we should use water as water is associated with energy, food and many more essentialities.

Raja Hassan Abbas, Additional Secretary, Climate Change Division, said that Pakistan is among the top 10 countries that may be adversely affected by the climate change according to international studies while it is the least contributor to the phenomenon of Climate Change.

Foreign Secretary, Chairman HEC, Mr. Shamsul Mulk, Ex-Chairman WAPDA, Mr. Khalid Mohtadullah, Syed Ayub Qutub, Mr Hasnain Afzal, Sardar Muhamad Tariq and many more contributed in the discussion. The house was adorned with the vote of thanks by the participants.

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