Water, the most important element accompanying soap in keeping ourselves

clean, seems more like a mirage.

The dire lack of proper sanitation and access to clean drinking water in most of
the areas in Pakistan is what this essay aims to discuss. It is to be noted that
Pakistan has one of the most wasteful irrigation systems globally if the
government funds an upgrade to that, we get more water and better harvests,
truly a win-win

However, the collective reasons for this lack of access and availability is where
climate change becomes the bane of our society struggling to fight a global
pandemic, one that we as a developing nation can only hope to counteract.
More like a tricycle than a love triangle, we are stuck amid the dependence of
water on climate change, climate change on coronavirus, and the novel
coronavirus on water. To understand how the three are interlinked and
interconnected, we shall observe the few examples stated herein below.

As with almost every disease that requires cleanliness to be observed, this

infection with all its negative impacts has ensured that people all around the
world wash hands more often at the turn of this decade than they did their
entire lives. However, we must ask why is that in Pakistan the idea of being able
to perform this simple 5-7 step act is considered a luxury, a privilege not known
to many, rather than a fundamental right[2] under Article 9 of the Constitution
of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The Constitution promises not just the right
to life and liberty, but has been interpreted as guaranteeing to all its citizens
basic amenities such as water, food, healthcare and education. [3]

Multiple studies and research have shown that there are effective ways to
tackle the shortage of water and ensure proper sanitation even in communities
that are marginalized and deprived of basic facilities such as access to clean
portable water. Pakistani society being one of the most economically-
disadvantaged ones can look at examples such as that of Venezuela where the
country routinely struggles to address water shortages and afford expensive
supplies. The country has managed this through research and problem-solving
techniques that involve the government, its officials, local departments and
international institutions that fight the water crises for the public. [5] While water
is a resource which everyone is dependent upon, from hospitals to homes,
some important entities in Pakistan can employ solutions that are observed
internationally to protect their communities and provide promising public
health.

 “There is no such thing as “away”, when we throw anything away, it must go

somewhere

The problem of water shortage in Pakistan needs to be addressed holistically

yet at a local level with better coordination and cooperation between the local
and provincial governments. The issue when broken down and divided
amongst the municipal committees of each area, gives more autonomy to the
mayor of the local government to handle the access and availability to safe and
clean drinking water as well as control over waste water collection, sanitation
and responsible management of sewage. It is time for the more affluent
citizens of each district/tehsil to join hands with each provincial government’s
water supplier such as the Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) in Punjab and
Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) which are responsible for providing
clean safe drinking water and handling pipelines for better sanitation practice.
Moreover, an active role by the more influential, financially-sound individuals
allows for non-affording citizens to be benefitted when the wealthy responsibly
donate resources and money to government departments that could be used
for those specific purposes. However, reality overtakes optimism when in a
country such as Pakistan, the sheer disregard for transparency in many sectors
makes the provision of basic services and amenities to less privileged
communities and underdeveloped areas very difficult. Hence, exercising
autonomy at such grassroots will allow provincial governments to hold actors
accountable for the service they are responsible for when they fail to manage
and provide what is a basic human right deserved by all. And on the other
hand, it is crucial to make poor households and the public aware of their rights,
their actions, and their role. Those deprived of water facilities and mostly
challenged by the changing temperatures and the worst effects of climate
change, should be able to demand what the government hopes and tries to
deploy as part of basic necessities of life. Hence, in an attempt to create
awareness amongst those most vulnerable and unable to access water, we, as
part of our Street Law class at LUMS covered and taught water as a
fundamental human right at Umeed School where bright, enthusiastic 7th
grader students wrote letters to the mayor of their area to make water easily
accessible and improve basic sanitation and waste water in their communities.
This level of change is often underrated, forgotten and ignored but it is crucial
to empower masses for them to know their legal rights and how to ask for their
enforcement.

However, it is also important for international institutions such as the United

Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) Pakistan
to take initiatives in forming a coherent response to emergencies in Pakistan
and establish a framework within which each actor can contribute to the overall
response effort.[6]

Hence, water which is the center of gravity in every human life cannot be seen
in isolation. It ties into various fora and is the bigger picture of the diaspora
Pakistan is currently revolving around. With little or no access in some places
and wide discretionary access to those who can afford tankers, better living
standards, and houses near water facilities, water represents class and socio-
economic inequity. It is only when all actors, big and small, rich and poor, come
together to play individual roles in fighting water inaccessibility and improving
the environment that we will experience a safe, healthier and positive climate
change.