By M. Zaeem Saqib
The Kahoon Valley in Chakwal was once a landscape of natural abundance — rich with rolling green hills, crystal-clear underground springs, and a tight-knit rural community sustained by generations of farming and pastoral life. Once, the matchless valley with unique flora & fauna today stands as a stark symbol of environmental devastation — the result of an unregulated, politically shielded cement industry whose footprints have grown unchecked for years.
What’s happening in Kahoon is not just an isolated tragedy. It reflects a broader, systemic failure across Pakistan, devastation & destruction where haphazard industrial expansion is often prioritized over environmental protection and public health — with little to no oversight.
Over the past two decades, the expansion of cement factories in Kahoon Valley has coincided with a steady decline in the region’s ecological and social well-being. Many of these factories operate with limited adherence to environmental standards, discharging untreated chemical waste directly into the soil. This toxic runoff is now seeping into the valley’s underground aquifers — once a source of life — rendering the water unfit for both drinking and irrigation. Residents increasingly report outbreaks of skin diseases, gastrointestinal illnesses, and the steady decline of agricultural yields – a quiet crisis unfolding well beneath the radar of national attention.
But this is not just an environmental issue – it is one of power and impunity. Pakistan’s cement manufacturers often operate with the tacit support of influential political and economic stakeholders. Environmental laws, such as mandatory Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs), are frequently bypassed or manipulated to facilitate industrial licensing. Community members and activists who demand transparency are often met with silence – or worse, harassment, intimidation, and legal threats.
This toxic alliance between profit-driven corporations and indifferent regulators has made the cement sector one of Pakistan’s most dangerous polluters – and one of its least accountable.
Even more alarming is that this pattern is repeating itself across the country. From Dera Ghazi Khan to Mianwali and Thatta, groundwater tables are plummeting, arable land is disappearing, and local populations are increasingly left to fend for themselves amid rising environmental degradation. In many affected regions, residents no longer trust their wells and are forced to buy water from tankers – a solution that many cannot afford. Pakistan is already amongst the most water-stressed nations in the world. To continue allowing industries to deplete and contaminate groundwater for short-term economic gains is nothing less than national self-sabotage.
So where are the institutions meant to safeguard the environment? The Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency (Pak-EPA) and its provincial counterparts remain largely reactive – stepping in only after damage has already been done, if at all. This is not merely a governance gap; it is a profound ethical failure. When a state cannot protect its people from toxic water, failing crops, and unbreathable air, it forfeits its most basic duty to its citizens.
This is a wake-up call. Pakistan’s cement industry must be brought under strict, enforceable, and transparent regulation. Independent environmental audits, proper waste management systems, and meaningful penalties for violators are urgently needed. The long-term costs of continued inaction — in public health, food security, and environmental collapse – will far outweigh the temporary profits being enjoyed by a few.
As Pakistan pushes forward with its infrastructure and housing goals, it must ask a fundamental question: can we truly call it “development” if it destroys the very land and lives it claims to uplift?
Kahoon Valley is already paying the price. The question now is: how many more valleys must be sacrificed before we act?
