Chief ministers of the four provinces Tuesday signed the first National Water Policy and Pakistan Water Charter after developing a consensus to mitigate the negative impact of climate changes and rapidly depleting water resources.

The consensus was developed at the 37th meeting of Council of Common Interests (CCI), chaired by Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi here at the PM Office.

The national water policy includes strategic initiatives and is in line with the National Climate Change Policy 2012.

The meeting was attended by Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervez Khattak, Balochistan Chief Minister Abdul Quddus Bizenjo, federal and provincial ministers and senior officials.

Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Sartaj Aziz had earlier presented the draft at the 36th meeting of the CCI during which the participants agreed that the proposed policy be brought before the next meeting after incorporating suggestions from the provinces.

The meeting was followed by a special signing ceremony at the Prime Minister's Office in which the four chief ministers and the prime minister inked the policy.

The meeting also presented a vote of thanks to Sartaj Aziz and Minister for Water Resources Syed Javed Ali Shah.

Sartaj Aziz said Pakistan was rapidly becoming a water-scarce country with declining water table, lesser rainfall, declining water storage and was meeting its obligation of Sustainable Development Goals by moving towards Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM). He said urgent measures were needed to meet the growing water demands owing to increasing population. He said there was an urgent need to enhance water storage capacity to help future water needs.

Under the water policy, administrative bodies would be set up at the federal and provincial levels, including National Water Council, and Provincial Water Authorities to improve coordination for better water resource management.