Hub water crisis threatens industries in Balochistan, chambers appeal to PM for immediate action.

The Express Tribune reports that an acute water crisis is causing industrial operations in Hub, Balochistan, to grind to a halt. The Hub Dam is almost full, yet leaders of the Hub Chamber of Commerce & Industry claim that industries, farmers and residents are systematically deprived of their due share of water. Former president Ismail Suttar and current President Yakoob H Karim have issued an SOS appeal to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, urging immediate intervention to avert a looming industrial, agricultural and humanitarian crisis. They warned that without water supplied to Hub industries and growing population based on actual demand, several industrial units could suspend operations within weeks, ending thousands of jobs and damaging the national economy. The chamber leaders emphasized that Hub contributes more than Rs7 billion annually in taxes to the national exchequer, and that prolonged water shortages would reduce government revenue and harm exports, investment, and industrial growth. The situation is described as a potential industrial backup that would cripple Balochistan’s economic backbone if no immediate action is taken.