Safely managed drinking water
Source
UN SDG Pakistan profile — https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/dataportal/countryprofiles/pak. Verified in source set / retroactive normalization pending.
What it proves
Shows the gap in access to safely managed water services.
What it does not prove: 'Safely managed' is the JMP's top service rung, requiring an improved source that is on premises, available when needed and free from contamination — failing any one criterion drops a household out of the 45%. The remaining 55% are therefore not people without water; most have access that is intermittent, distant or unsafe. The contamination component is also heavily modelled, since Pakistan lacks routine nationwide water-quality testing.
Memory hook: 45% → water reaches most homes, safe water reaches fewer than half
Rebuts the claim: 'Pakistan's water crisis is a problem of quantity that new supply infrastructure will fix' — over half the population's failure is in service quality and safety.