Agriculture: Water’s cycle of debt and poverty

Pakistan today faces a double-barreled water emergency: first, the drying up of surface storage; and second, the relentless depletion of groundwater resources. The country is frequently cited as facing severe water stress, with an estimated storage capacity of only about 30 days compared with an international benchmark of 120 days. In March 2025, Tarbela and Mangla reservoirs fell to or near dead level, and Sindh faced about a 50 per cent water shortage at the start of the kharif season; the Indus River System Authority described depletion to dead levels as a common or usual occurrence in that season. Geopolitical treaty tussles aside, a major challenge in Pakistan’s water sector is that…