Water injustice, not water scarcity, destabilising vulnerable nations: Musadik

• Climate minister urges global action on transboundary water governance and equity

• Stresses vulnerable communities bearing combined impact of climate change and upstream control

• Warns disruption of vital river flows threatens agriculture, food security and regional stability

• Calls for dialogue, multilateral cooperation and rules-based solutions to water disputes

 BRUSSELS: Federal Minister for Climate Change and Environmental Coordination Dr Musadik Malik on Friday said the global water crisis was fundamentally an issue of justice rather than scarcity, arguing that vulnerable communities are increasingly bearing the combined impact of climate change and upstream control of transboundary rivers.

Addressing a Transboundary Water Resources Seminar organised by the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) and the Embassy of Pakistan in Brussels, the minister said the core challenge facing millions was not only floods or droughts, but the fact that decisions affecting water flows are often made elsewhere.

وفاقی وزیر ڈاکٹر مصدق ملک آج برسلز میں منعقدہ سیمینار "سرحد پار آبی وسائل" میں بطور مہمانِ خصوصی خطاب کریں گے۔

🇵🇰 🤝 🇧🇪 | @CEPS_thinktank pic.twitter.com/zQgmK7aS7D

— Climate Change & Environment Ministry Pakistan (@ClimateChangePK) June 18, 2026

“The problem is neither the scarcity of water nor the floods,” he said. “It’s someone else having their hand on the tap that allows for the water to flow.”

To highlight the human cost of climate-related disasters, Dr Malik narrated the experience of farmer Iqbal Solangi, who lived near the boundary of two Pakistani provinces. He said Solangi was affected by floods in 2010, rebuilt his life, suffered another devastating flood in 2012, recovered again, and was ultimately displaced after a third disaster.

According to the minister, the repeated disasters wiped out seven generations of farming heritage, destroyed livestock accumulated over two generations, forced children out of school, and compelled the family to relocate to an urban area.

“He was devastated by floods followed by droughts, droughts that would crack his land, followed by floods again and droughts again,” he said.

Dr Malik said Solangi’s story reflected a wider global reality in which vulnerable populations suffer consequences of decisions in which they have no voice.

“If someone else, who is not Solangi, decides when he’s going to be inundated and when he’s going to starve, then it doesn’t become a problem of water; it becomes a problem of justice,” he said.

The minister said Pakistan’s experience was mirrored in other countries such as Bangladesh, where communities depend on river systems they do not control. He also referred to women who walk long distances daily to fetch water after local sources dry up.

“This is not a crisis in her life. This is her life,” he said.

Dr Malik described what he called a “double bind” for climate-vulnerable nations: major emitters driving global warming and extreme weather, while upstream control of rivers adds further strain on downstream populations.

He noted that three countries account for 56 per cent of global carbon dioxide emissions, 10 countries for 70pc, while 80pc of green financing is concentrated among them.

“We are 220 million people and we produce less than one per cent of carbon dioxide emissions,” he said.

Citing climate losses in Pakistan, the minister said around 6,000 people had died over the past 15 years, approximately 19,000 had been injured or disabled, and an estimated 1.8 billion school days had been lost.

He linked climate change with transboundary water governance, saying Pakistan faced glacier melt, shifting hydrological patterns, and uncertainty in shared river flows.

Referring to Pakistan’s neighbour as the world’s third-largest emitter, he said the same country contributing significantly to warming also had influence over water flows affecting downstream populations.

  Broader Question Of Rules-Based International Order

Dr Malik cited sharp fluctuations in Chenab River flows, saying levels changed from around 18,000 cusecs to 1,500 cusecs within two days despite no rainfall.

“When 18,000 cusecs of water flow drops to 1,500, or starts from 1,500 and goes to 18,000 within two days with no rainfall, it’s not rainfall, it’s something else,” he said. “And that something else is transboundary water.”

He said the issue extended beyond the Indus Waters Treaty and reflected the broader question of a rules-based international order.

“When you’re talking about the Indus Waters Treaty, you’re not talking about one treaty. You’re talking about the rules-based regime,” he said.

Dr Malik urged academics, policymakers and international institutions to speak out against injustice in both climate governance and transboundary water management.

“I think it’s a problem of rights. I think it’s a problem of justice,” he said.

He stressed that Pakistan’s position was not directed against people across the border, noting that poor farmers on both sides faced similar vulnerabilities due to climate change and environmental degradation.

“We are not against the poor people living across the border in India. Why would we be against them? They’re equally poor,” he said.

Warning of consequences for river-dependent economies, he said about 40pc of Pakistan’s population depends on agriculture, which contributes roughly 25pc to GDP and underpins national food security.

“If someone attacks the flow of river around which we’ve built this entire civilisation, what do you think it’s going to be? From our perspective, it’s going to be a declaration of war,” he said.

However, he emphasized that Pakistan seeks peace rather than confrontation.

“We want Pakistan and other countries to be net peace providers,” he said, calling for dialogue, multilateral engagement and negotiated solutions to transboundary disputes.

He cautioned against unilateral approaches and urged scholars and policymakers to engage in constructive dialogue on global water governance.

“If your argument and your evidence are stronger, we stand corrected. But let’s have a dialogue, talk about it,” he said.