World Water Day is celebrated every year on 22nd March as an observance day to highlight the importance of freshwater. The day is used to advocate for the sustainable management of freshwater resources.

As part of the World Water Day 2020 celebrations, Aga Khan Agency for Habitat (AKAH) shares these stories of people from Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral whose lives have been deeply impacted by water and sanitation-related projects in the region.

Hunza Police had raided an illegal Hunza moonshine distillery in Altit town of Central Hunza Valley and seized around 230 liters of Araq. According to a post published on Facebook by an account associated with SHO Hunza District, the police raided the illegal moonshine factory based on a tip.

The successful operation was led by SHO Hunza himself. A team of policemen who participated in the raid posed for a photo with an illegal moonshine maker after seizing Araq and distillation equipment.

The post further mentions that an FIR has been lodged against the owner of the factory. The distillation equipment and 230 liters of Araq, some of which were already filled in reused mineral water bottles, were seized from the illegal moonshine factory.

Raids of such kind are not new in the Hunza district. Despite a rise in making and selling of the Hunza Moonshine, locally known as Araq and sometimes referred to as Hunza Water by tourists, authorities have failed to formulate address the issue.

During the past five years, at least seven such raids have been made but the real issue is far from being addressed.

According to a survey in 2015 by a youth organization, 3 out of every 5 men in Hunza consume Araq at least once in a month. Due to a ban on publicly buying and selling of alcohol, the illegal moonshine makers find a way to fill the gap.

In Gilgit-Baltistan, the local moonshine making industry is thriving in the districts of Hunza and Ghizer.

BBC reported in 2013 that despite a public ban, alcoholism is becoming a rising issue in Pakistan. Despite excise taxation on liquor, beer, spirits and alcohol, there is no written national policy in Pakistan adopted to address the many issues related to alcoholism.