Chief Justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar has given mineral water companies one week to improve the way they work, telling them to either stop defrauding the public or else quit the industry.
A Supreme Court bench headed by the chief justice resumed hearing a suo motu case pertaining to the exploitation of water resources by mineral water companies that are operating in the country.
As the hearing went under way, water technologist Professor Dr Ahsan Siddiqui told the bench that mineral water companies were lying when they said they added minerals to water extracted from underground reservoirs.
Minerals occur naturally in water, and these bottled water companies replace the naturally occurring minerals with artificial minerals, he said.
For every glass of water, three glasses of water are wasted.
Mineral water companies use 7.5bn litres of groundwater monthly, and 1.5bn litres of polluted water are released back into the underground, the expert informed the court.
The court was further told that expired chemicals were being used to test water.
Annoyed, Chief Justice Nisar remarked that the bench had no soft spot for the mineral water companies operating in the country.
“End this fraud with the public. We can’t let our children drink this water,” he stated, adding that these mineral water companies would “turn Pakistan into Ethiopia”.
The judge remarked that these companies would have to pay for all the water extracted. “They have stolen billions of rupees’ worth of water. 
“People should boycott [these] mineral water companies. We will not allow the water to be stolen.”
Chief Justice Nisar further observed that if the mineral water companies had been paying taxes on their use of the water, then the dam fund would not need money from anyone else.
“What remains is registration of a case against [these companies],” he stated.
The chief justice then warned the companies to improve their operations within a week, or else they would be shut down.
He also summoned a meeting of all stakeholders, including advocate generals and representatives from the government and the mineral water companies, to review the matter.