Kamran
WATER scarcity is no longer a distant threat for Pakistan; it is a crisis already unfolding in the lives of millions. Pakistan ranks among the countries facing extremely high water risk, while more than 80 percent of its population is exposed to severe water scarcity. Yet the crisis is not merely about having too little water. Increasingly, the deeper problem is that the water available to people is often unsafe to drink. Pakistan’s water crisis has therefore moved beyond drought, rationing and failing infrastructure. It is becoming a public health emergency, with contaminated drinking water contributing to a growing burden of disease, including concerns over kidney health. The United Nations recognises access to safe drinking water and sanitation as a human right, essential to human dignity and health. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has repeatedly warned that unsafe drinking water is a major source of disease because microbial and chemical contamination can directly threaten human health.
In Pakistan, contaminated water enters daily life through municipal supplies, hand pumps, canals and groundwater. This creates a particularly dangerous situation: water may be physically available, yet still be unfit for human consumption. In such circumstances, the right to water becomes meaningless if the water reaching households carries invisible health risks. The scale of the problem is alarming. According to data attributed to the Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR), only around 32 percent of drinking-water sources nationwide are safe, while 59 percent were found unfit because of microbiological contamination. Karachi presents an even more troubling picture. Reports have indicated that more than 90 percent of tested water sources in the city contain hazardous pollutants, forcing a large proportion of residents to purchase drinking water.
The consequences extend far beyond immediate infections. Kidneys continuously filter the blood, making prolonged exposure to certain contaminants particularly concerning. Arsenic, lead, cadmium, fluoride, excessive dissolved solids and disease-causing microorganisms can pose serious health risks when exposure continues over long periods. Studies in industrial areas, including Gujranwala, have detected heavy metals such as cadmium, lead, arsenic and mercury at levels that have raised public-health concerns. The problem is not caused by water scarcity alone. Untreated sewage, industrial discharge, agricultural runoff, groundwater depletion and weak regulatory enforcement have polluted rivers, canals and underground water reserves. In many communities, wells that appear clean may contain chemical contaminants that cannot be detected without laboratory testing. For poor households, the situation is particularly harsh. Many cannot afford bottled water, household filtration systems or regular medical treatment. Unsafe water consequently becomes a daily exposure rather than an occasional risk.
Recent reports have brought renewed attention to the connection between contaminated water and kidney disease. In March 2026, the Pakistan Medical Association warned that Pakistan could face 25000 to 50000 new end-stage renal disease cases during the year, placing further pressure on dialysis and transplant services. Such warnings are especially serious in a country where healthcare access is unequal and kidney treatment can impose a heavy financial burden on families. Kidney disease is also a particularly difficult public-health challenge because it can progress silently. By the time symptoms become severe, significant damage may already have occurred. For families living in areas where contaminated water is a persistent problem, the consequences can therefore accumulate gradually through medical expenses, lost income and long-term treatment.
Pakistan is not facing this challenge in isolation. Globally, water stress is intensifying because of pollution, overuse, population growth and climate pressures. WHO and UNICEF have reported that billions of people worldwide still lack safely managed drinking water. Pakistan, however, faces a particularly difficult combination of water insecurity, pollution, poverty and weak enforcement. The country’s kidney crisis, therefore, should not be viewed simply as a medical issue. It is also a governance and environmental challenge. Effective action requires regular testing of drinking-water sources, stronger enforcement against industrial and municipal pollution, improved sewage treatment, protection of groundwater and transparent publication of water-quality data. Safe drinking water must be treated as essential public infrastructure rather than a commodity available only to those who can afford it.
The most disturbing feature of Pakistan’s water crisis is its gradual nature. Unlike floods or earthquakes, contaminated water rarely produces a single dramatic moment of destruction. Instead, it works silently, exposing communities day after day and contributing to health problems that may become visible only years later. Pakistan has heard the warnings for decades. Contaminated groundwater, unsafe municipal supplies, unreliable bottled water and growing pressure on healthcare systems are recurring features of the same problem. The challenge now is to move beyond temporary reactions and address the causes. A country cannot protect public health while allowing its most essential resource to remain unsafe. Clean water is not a luxury; it is a basic condition of a healthy and dignified life.
—The writer occasionally contributes.
