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    Floating in a rubber dinghy, a filmmaker documents the Indus River's water woes

    Pakistani filmmaker Wajahat Malik pulled together an expedition to raft down the 2,000-mile river. He hopes to reconnect people with the Indus, which is being threatened by overuse and climate change.
    by Diaa Hadid Jun 28, 2022 5 minutes
    Wajahat Malik, right, and a Pakistan Navy seaman navigate the Indus River. Malik organized a 40-day expedition down the 2,000-mile river to document "the peoples, the cultures, the biodiversity and just whatever comes our way," he says — including the impact of climate change and pollution.

    ON THE INDUS RIVER, Pakistan – Pakistanis call the Indus the Father of the Rivers, the Blue Water, the Lion River. Ancient civilizations thrived around it. Shrines to Sufi and Hindu saints dot its banks. And its waters irrigate the crops that feed Pakistan's 220 million people.

    Yet the Indus is suffering. Parts of the river are drying up. Wealthy landowners are diverting its waters to irrigate their own crops, leaving little water for small farmers. And the river has become a dumping ground for pollutants.

    That intrigued Pakistani filmmaker Wajahat Malik. He began wondering if there was a disconnect between the Pakistani people and the Indus. How could they allow this to happen to their mighty river?

    "Especially for the urban population, the river is something that is [far] away," he says. "I don't think people can relate to the river,"

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