Sir: “Without water, life is threatened,” notes the Compendium of Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church. “Therefore the right to safe drinking water is a universal and inalienable right.” But in a country like ours, where there is no dignity or respect for the value of human life, who cares about water? Water is and will continue to be a fundamental right-to-life issue in this country. Every day here in Islamabad, I see people carelessly wasting water even on rainy days. The way housewives and maids, car-cleaners and others waste water in this city is painful to see. While there is much work ahead to sensitise our ruling elite to this fact, there is also much work to be done to motivate the heads of different water bodies in Pakistan to educate public and private sector consumers regarding the proper infrastructure for water, and about the issue of clean water and its sustainable use. Sadly, little is being done in either urban or rural Pakistan to teach the public to protect and conserve clean water, and to maintain our resources for future generations. Working for clean water here and now is about more than saving ecosystems and human lives. It’s also about saving our future. We can save both by properly investing in and judiciously using water, which is a gift. The people of Pakistan, especially the inhabitants of remote and rural areas, must not remain deprived of this necessity. HASHIM ABRO Islamabad