INDIA`S unilateral decision to place the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) in abeyance threatens Pakistan`s water security after six decades of cooperative management. While pursuing legal challenges, Pakistan must also implement transformative water strategies to secure its future amidst climate change and the risk of upstream infrastructural development.

This crisis will intensify in the coming decades as Pakistan`s population doubles by 2050 while available water resources potentially diminish by half. Under these conditions, Pakistan must quadruple its water productivity simply to maintain current levels of water security.

Given these challenges, Pakistan needs to adopt a comprehensive strategy spanning the next 25 years to 2050, coinciding with India`s projected timeline for developing the diversion infrastructure. This strategy should position Pakistan to reduce water insecurity by its centennial anniversary in 2047. The strategy should address both supply and demand dimensions, combining policy reforms and technological innovation with structural institutional transformation. The following six tracks can be followed concurrently.

Maximise water productivity: Agriculture consumes over 90 per cent of our water resources.

Pakistan must extract more value from each drop of water by dramatically increasing agricultural water productivity. Following the example of Indian Punjab and Haryana, it should target annual increases of 1-2pc in water productivity for major crops. Compounded over 25 years, this would yield a 28-64pc increase in overall water productivity, enabling us to maintain or increase agricultural output with less water.

This transformation requires modernising irrigation infrastructure to reduce the current 60pc water loss during conveyance and field application. Transitioning from flood irrigation to more efficient methods like drip and precision irrigation systems, implementing digital water monitoring technologies, and adopting conservation agriculture techniques that improve soil water retention would improve efficiency. The Pakistan Agricultural Research Council, now facing unwise closure, has already piloted these options. The lessons can be upscaled. Critical staple crops (sugarcane, wheat, rice and cotton) currently consume disproportionate water resources relative to their economic value.

Conjunctive management of surface and gro-undwater resources, a cornerstone of the unimplemented National Water Policy, must become a central tenet of our agricultural water strategy.

By recharging groundwater during the monsoons through nature-based solutions like constructed wetlands and modified farm practices, Pakistan can create natural subsurface reservoirs that stabilise water availability in dry periods.

These steps would help with vital agricultural exports. With consistent implementation over the 25-year timeline, Pakistan could achieve water productivity comparable to regional benchmarks, ensuringagriculturalsustainabilitywithdecreasing surface water flows.

Harness hill torrents: Pakistan`s hill torrent systems represent an untapped resource that could transform agriculture in mountainous regions.

While currently irrigating 0.84-3.16 million acres, proper management could expand this to 17.2m acres, benefiting 15-20m people in economically disadvantaged areas. Contemporary management approaches integrating remote sensing, AI, and community participation convert destructive seasonal flash floods into productive irrigation resources.

A comprehensive hill torrent management programme could add 12-16 MAF of water annually more than our current total storage capacity.

This option avoids inter-provincial tensions triggered by the expansion of the canal network, by precisely targeting areas with the greatest need.

Develop alternative water sources: Pakistan must prioritise developing entirely new water sources, particularly for its coastal urban centres.

Desalination technology offers a viable solution for Karachi, which houses 15pc of Pakistan`s population, as well as for Hyderabad and other coastal cities, potentially serving 25-30m people.

Modern reverse osmosis desalination, especially when powered by renewable energy, has become cost-effective for urban and industrial water supply. Public-private partnerships can mobilise capital for infrastructural investments.

By meeting coastal urban demand through desalination, Pakistan can reduce pressure on the Water Apportionment Accord, freeing up to 4 MAF of water annually from the Indus system for farming and other uses.

Complementary to desalination, Pakistan must expand wastewater treatment and reuse. Israel now recycles 86pc of its wastewater, primarily for agricultural use. If Pakistan were to achieve evenhalf this rate, it could reclaim some 3-4 MAF annually, supplementing freshwater supplies while reducing marine pollution.

These alternative sources provide diversification to Pakistan`s water portfolio, reducing vulnerability to changes in transboundary flows while addressing the specific needs of growing urban consumption.

Implement rational water pricing: Pakistan`s heavily subsidised water pricing undermines conservation efforts. A 25-year plan for gradual cost recovery from industrial, municipal, and agricultural water users is essential for suppressing growing demand.

In the farm sector, appropriate pricing would encourage shifts away from water-intensive crops like sugarcane and rice in water-scarce regions.

In urban areas, it would drive adoption of watersaving technologies and behaviour. Water pricing reform must be implemented with carefully designed protections for small farmers and vulnerable populations. While politically challenging, pricing reform is among the most powerful tools for addressing Pakistan`s water crisis through demand management.

Transform water institutions: Pakistan should pursue a comprehensive institutional reform agenda learning from our failures and successful global examples. This includes recasting the mandates of several existing institutions and streamlining coordination between federal and provincial water institutions, and integrated hydrological data systems.

Convert crisis into an opportunity:The IWT`s suspension is a frontal attack on the Indus Valley civilisation and the Indus Basin our food machine feeding millions in South, Central and West Asia. Instead of allowing our economy and society to become hostage to India`s unilateralism, it`s time for us to invest in our water security and address Pakistan`s chronic water management issues. A transformed water management system could fuel our economy and provide insurance against climatic uncertainties and transboundarypressures.

By implementing comprehensive reforms and adopting proven management strategies, Pakistan can build resilience against both diplomatic uncertainties and climate change impacts. • The wnter is a climate change and sustainable development expert