Loud Thinking

The Honorable Prime Minister of Pakistan, Islamabad

The Honorable Chief Minister, Government of Punjab, Lahore

Respected Sir/Madam

With the utmost urgency, I bring to your notice a national crisis of catastrophic proportions. Untreated industrial and municipal wastewater from Indian Punjab continues to enter Pakistan through the Hudiara Drain.

This transboundary pollution has been a long-neglected issue, devastating vast agricultural lands of Punjab, where crops are irrigated with toxic water, directly threatening human, livestock, and ecosystem health.

The untreated effluents are linked to serious diseases including gastrointestinal infections, skin disorders, cancers, respiratory illnesses, kidney and liver damage, and reproductive health complications. Animals consuming contaminated fodder suffer reduced productivity and mortality, worsening Pakistan’s food security. The pollutant ladened water recharges Ravi Basin near Lahore and the pollutants also seep into groundwater, endangering millions who depend on it.

1. An Environmental and Humanitarian Disaster

Independent monitoring confirms that the Hudiara drain carries deadly levels of toxic pollutants:

• Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD): Exponentially above safe limits, creating oxygen-dead waters unfit for any life.
• Heavy Metals (Pb, Cd, Cr, Ni, Hg, Cu, Zn): Seeping into soils, crops, and aquifers, contaminating the national food chain.
• Pathogens and sewage: Carrying high microbial loads that cause widespread disease risk.
• Toxic solids and sulphides: Poisoning soils, livestock, and aquatic ecosystems.

2. Violation of Sovereignty: Environmental Terrorism and Hostile Action

This is not a mere case of pollution. It is a continuous and deliberate cross-border assault:

• It constitutes environmental terrorism, as toxic industrial sewage is weaponized against Pakistan.
• It is equivalent to a continuous chemical and biological attack upon our soil, water, and people — carried out under the cover of industrial discharge.
• It represents a grave violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, and right to security of life.

3. Urgent National and International Action Required

We urge immediate national and international intervention.

1. India must treat its wastewater at source or divert through safe alternate channels: India must be compelled under international environmental law, transboundary water agreements, and UN conventions to treat its wastewater at source or divert through safe alternate channels. Pakistan requires urgent technical, legal, and diplomatic support to stop this inflow, with monitoring by neutral international bodies (UNEP, WHO, ICJ, Indus Waters Treaty mediators).

2. Formal Notice to India: India must be given an ultimatum that this State-enabled ecological destruction must cease without delay.

3. Raise at the United Nations Security Council: Pakistan must formally present this issue to the UNSC as a case of cross-border environmental destruction, chemical and biological assault, and violation of international humanitarian and environmental law.

4. Assertion of Pakistan’s Right to Defense: Pakistan must declare that it reserves all rights under the UN Charter to defend its territory, citizens, and environment — including any measures necessary to neutralize this threat.

4. Conclusion

The continuation of this toxic inflow amounts to a sustained attack on Pakistan’s sovereignty and survival. India must be made to understand that Pakistan will no longer tolerate this aggression for a single day more. Moreover, India must pay reparations to Pakistan for all the above-mentioned damages.

We must act decisively, inform the international community, and safeguard our national interests. The lives, health, and dignity of our citizens demand nothing less.

With utmost urgency and respect,

Syed Nayyar Uddin Ahmad
Lahore.
+92 321 9402157 nayyarahmad51@gmail.com The author is a senior corporate leader and strategic analyst. His thought-provoking visionary insights have reshaped global discourse, capturing the attention of world leaders. His writings have not only resonated with heads of state and governments but have also influenced the foreign policies of the United States and other major powers.

Prof. Dr. Robina Farooq (T.I.)
Vice Chancellor GC Women University Faisalabad (2019-2023)
+92-3009892344; drrobinafarooq@hotmail.com
 
The co-author is an environmental scientist and academician with 36 years of teaching and research, and governance across Pakistan, UK, China, and Sweden. With three patents, extensive publications, numerous research projects, 23 national / international awards, and key statutory roles for institutional development, she stands as a transformative leader in higher education of Pakistan.