A year after Pakistan’s devastating floods, challenges drag on for most, but signs of hope for some

A worker repairs a dusty road surrounded by remaining water of last year's floods, near Therhi town in Khairpur, a district of Pakistan's Sindh province, Saturday, May 20, 2023. (AFP/File)
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Updated 22 June 2023
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A year after Pakistan’s devastating floods, challenges drag on for most, but signs of hope for some

  • At least 1,700 people killed, millions of homes destroyed and acres of farms wiped out 
  • Floods caused billions of dollars in economic losses with a third of the country underwater

ISLAMABAD: Last summer’s flooding in Pakistan killed at least 1,700 people, destroyed millions of homes, wiped out swathes of farmland, and caused billions of dollars in economic losses. All in a matter of months. At one point, a third of the country was underwater. Pakistani officials and scientists worldwide blame climate change for the unusually early and heavy monsoon rains.

A year on, the country hasn’t fully recovered. The aftermath runs the length of the country; survivors living in makeshift huts where their homes used to be, millions of children out of school, damaged infrastructure waiting to be repaired.

This journey through Pakistan looks at how the unprecedented flooding of 2022 affected everyday life — and future generations.

RESTORING WATER

The high altitudes and sharp peaks of the Hindu Kush Mountains mean that heavy rains barrel down through the northwest province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. That’s good because the waters quickly drain to lower lying areas. But it’s bad because of the damage they wreak along the way.

Last summer’s raging floods were so powerful that some rivers changed course. They wrecked more than 800 drinking water supply systems across nearly half of the province’s 34 districts, damaging pipelines, supply mains, storage tanks and wells.

Residents living by stagnant water were forced to rely on contaminated water for drinking. Health care teams started receiving thousands of patients with diseases like dengue, malaria, acute diarrhea, cholera and skin infections.

Authorities are taking some steps to prepare for the next disaster. They have installed an early warning system on seven of the major rivers and a monsoon contingency plan. Embankments were strengthened last year ahead of the flooding and riverbanks breached by floods have been repaired and reinforced.

LUCKY BREAK FOR AGRICULTURE

It wasn’t the flooding that nearly killed 80-year-old Razia Bibi and her family, it was the hunger.

The floods washed away the wheat they’d stored for the whole year in their home in Rojhan, Rajanpur district. Then they had to wait for weeks, scrounging for food, before supplies arrived from the government and aid groups.

Across Punjab, stores of grain were wiped out along with at least a half-million acres of crops and orchards.

Then relief came, mostly by luck rather than preparation.

Authorities installed pumps that got rid of some of the water, but most of it drained on its own, some flowing down into Sindh province, some spreading into deserted, open areas.

Waters receded in time for Punjab farmers to do the October sowing season and the result was a bumper crop. But the risk remains for future disasters.

LEFT WITHOUT SCHOOLS

Situated downstream from Pakistan’s other provinces, Sindh suffered a heavy blow from last year’s flooding and has been slow to recover.

Around half of Sindh’s 40,356 schools were either fully or partially damaged, affecting 2.3 million of its 4.5 million students, according to local education official Abdul Qadeer Ansari.

So far, only around 2,000 schools are being rebuilt. Ansari estimates reconstruction will take at least two years, with the new schools intended to be climate resistant.

In the village of Maskran Brohi, 115 students take classes in a temporary learning center in a tent. The 72-square-meter tent has no electricity, so it has neither lights nor fans. There are also no toilets and no clean water.

The only teacher, Zarina Bibi, doesn’t see most of the 87 kids she taught before the flooding — families scattered when the floods came — and rain flattened the roof and walls of the single-room primary school she used to teach in.

STARVED FOR ENERGY

Pakistan’s biggest province is also its most energy-starved.

Outside cities like Quetta and Gwadar, there is almost no central electricity. The largely rural population is scattered over the mountainous landscape, crippled by an entrenched feudal system, under-development and neglect by the local and central government.

Much of Baluchistan’s population relies on solar panels.

They faced losing what little they had in last year’s flooding. Even those fortunate enough to have access to central electricity suffered as the floods destroyed 81 grid stations and downed power lines.

Many lost their solar panels, and local authorities haven’t distributed replacements.

Muhammad Ibrahim, a 32-year-old father of five, managed to save his panel from his roof. Still homeless a year later, he uses it in the tent camp where he lives in Sohbat Pur district.

“It is so hot. We use solar panels to run fans to get some cool air,” he said. “Otherwise living in these tents is not possible.”

He doesn’t feel prepared for the next major flood.

“We’re scared of what will happen. But if it comes, we will run far away.”

 


Pakistan court suspends order seeking YouTube ban on government critics

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Pakistan court suspends order seeking YouTube ban on government critics

  • YouTube has warned 27 content creators their channels may be blocked if they fail to comply with a court order seeking to ban them
  • Digital rights groups warn the move could further erode free speech in Pakistan, where authorities face criticism for silencing dissent

ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani court on Friday suspended an order seeking to ban the YouTube channels of more than two dozen critics of the government including former Prime Minister Imran Khan, a defense lawyer said.

Alphabet-owned YouTube this week told 27 content creators that it could block their channels — including those of journalists and Khan and his opposition party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf — if they failed to comply with a judicial magistrate court order seeking to ban them.

A regional communication manager for YouTube did not respond to a Reuters request for a comment.

The judicial magistrate court in Islamabad had said it was seeking the ban after the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency criticized the channels in a June 2 report for “sharing highly intimidating, provocative and derogatory contents against state institutions and officials of the state of Pakistan.”

The decision to suspend the order was taken by an additional sessions judge, said Imaan Mazari, the lawyer for two of the YouTube content creators.

In Pakistan, an additional sessions judge is a judicial officer who presides over a sessions court, handling both civil and criminal cases.

“Our submission is that the order has no legal basis. It was a one-sided decision without giving defense a chance to be heard,” Mazari said.

She also said the magistrate court had no jurisdiction over the matter.

The next hearing in the sessions court is on July 21.

In Pakistan’s judicial system, cases start at civil and judicial magistrate courts and appeals are heard in high courts and the Supreme Court.

Digital rights campaigners say that any ban would further undermine free speech in Pakistan, where the authorities are accused of stifling newspapers and television, and social media is seen as one of the few outlets for dissent.


Islamabad, Moscow sign protocol to restore and modernize Pakistan Steel Mills

Updated 11 July 2025
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Islamabad, Moscow sign protocol to restore and modernize Pakistan Steel Mills

  • The Pakistan Steel Mills has been non-operational since 2015 due to years of financial mismanagement, political interference and mounting losses
  • Both sides discussed plans to modernize the major steel complex on the sidelines of the recent INNOPROM Annual Industrial Forum in Yekaterinburg

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Russia have signed a protocol to restore and modernize the Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) in Karachi, Pakistani state media reported on Friday.

The development comes days after the two sides discussed plans to modernize the major steel complex and expand industrial cooperation on the sidelines of the INNOPROM Annual Industrial Forum in Yekaterinburg.

INNOPROM, Russia’s largest annual industrial trade fair, brings together government delegations, business leaders and technology firms from over 30 countries to explore partnerships in manufacturing, engineering and high-tech industries.

The protocol was signed at the Pakistan Embassy in Moscow by Pakistan’s Secretary of Industries and Production Saif Anjum and Russian General Director of Industrial Engineering LLC Vadim Velichko, reaffirming the long-standing industrial partnership.

“The project aims to restart and expand steel production [in Pakistan], marking a new chapter in bilateral cooperation,” read a report on Radio Pakistan broadcaster.

The PSM, once Pakistan’s flagship industrial complex, was built in the 1970s with Soviet assistance. While it symbolized national self-sufficiency, the mill has been non-operational since 2015 due to years of financial mismanagement, political interference and mounting losses.

Moscow is also expected to finalize an agreement with Islamabad this summer to construct a new steel mill in Karachi, Russian Consul-General Andrey B. Fedorov told Arab News this month.

Technical experts from Russia have already inspected the proposed site for the new facility, and another delegation is expected soon to draft a detailed roadmap.

Russia has a long history of industrial cooperation with Pakistan, having previously built key infrastructure projects such as the Guddu Power Station in Sindh in the 1980s, one of the country’s major electricity producers.
Moscow and Islamabad have expanded cooperation in recent years despite global tensions over the war in Ukraine.


Pakistan rain death toll rises to 90 as authorities issue fresh flood warning

Updated 11 July 2025
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Pakistan rain death toll rises to 90 as authorities issue fresh flood warning

  • Heavy rains have also damaged at least 343 houses nationwide
  • Relief operations underway in affected areas, authority says

KARACHI: The death toll from monsoon downpours in Pakistan rose to 90 after three children died in rain-related incidents in the eastern Punjab province, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said on Friday, amid fresh alert about possible flooding between July 13 and July 17.

Punjab has reported 32 deaths, including 18 children, while the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province has recorded 30 deaths, 14 of them children, since the start of monsoon in late June.

The southern province of Sindh has reported 16 deaths and the southwestern Balochistan province has logged 11 fatalities. One man lost his life in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

“The total number of 90 deceased include 45 children, 29 men and 16 women,” the NDMA said in a report on Friday, adding that another 158 people were injured in incidents across the country.

“Minor flooding is ongoing at Tarbela, Taunsa and Guddu Barrages, while moderate flooding continues at Kalabagh and Chashma.”

Heavy rains have also damaged at least 343 houses nationwide. Of them, 109 were destroyed and 234 incurred partial damages, according to the NDMA.

Flood relief operations have been underway in affected areas, with authorities distributing tents, ration bags, blankets, sandbags, quilts, gas cylinders, mattresses, kitchen sets, mosquito nets, plastic mats, hygiene kits and food packets to affected families.

A total of 24 relief camps have been set up in Punjab and two in Sindh, providing shelter to 176 people, whereas around 245 people have been rescued in 21 operations carried out across the country.

FLOOD ALERT

Taunsa Barrage located on Indus River in Punjab’s Dera Ismail Khan district “may experience moderate flooding,” the NDMA said in a fresh alert on Friday.

There is a risk of minor flooding at Marala and Khanki along the Chenab River and at Nowshera along the Kabul River. Flooding is also expected in the Swat and Panjkora Rivers as well as their adjoining streams.

The NDMA has advised people to exercise caution and avoid crossing streams, bridges and floodwaters.

Pakistan has also rolled out a location-based SMS alert system to warn citizens living in flood-prone areas about imminent weather threats.

Pakistan, home to over 240 million people, is consistently ranked among the countries most vulnerable to climate change. In 2022, record-breaking monsoon rains and glacier melt triggered catastrophic floods that affected 33 million people and killed more than 1,700.


Pakistani father kills daughter over TikTok account, police say

Updated 11 July 2025
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Pakistani father kills daughter over TikTok account, police say

  • TikTok is wildly popular in Pakistan, in part because of its accessibility to a population with low literacy levels
  • Pakistani authorities have repeatedly blocked or threatened to block the app over what they call ‘immoral behavior’

RAWALPINDI: Pakistan police on Friday said a father shot dead his daughter after she refused to delete her account on popular video-sharing app TikTok.

In the Muslim-majority country, women can be subjected to violence by family members for not following strict rules on how to behave in public, including in online spaces.

“The girl’s father had asked her to delete her TikTok account. On refusal, he killed her,” a police spokesperson told AFP.

According to a police report shared with AFP, investigators said the father killed his 16-year-old daughter on Tuesday “for honor.” He was subsequently arrested.

The victim’s family initially tried to “portray the murder as a suicide” according to police in the city of Rawalpindi, where the attack happened, next to the capital Islamabad.

Last month, a 17-year-old girl and TikTok influencer with hundreds of thousands of online followers was killed at home by a man whose advances she had refused.

Sana Yousaf had racked up more than a million followers on social media accounts including TikTok, where she shared videos of her favorite cafes, skincare products, and traditional outfits.

TikTok is wildly popular in Pakistan, in part because of its accessibility to a population with low literacy levels.

Women have found both audience and income on the app, which is rare in a country where fewer than a quarter of the women participate in the formal economy.

However, only 30 percent of women in Pakistan own a smartphone compared to twice as many men (58 percent), the largest gap in the world, according to the Mobile Gender Gap Report of 2025.

Pakistani telecommunications authorities have repeatedly blocked or threatened to block the app over what they call “immoral behavior.”

In southwestern Balochistan, where tribal law governs many rural areas, a man confessed to orchestrating the murder of his 14-year-old daughter earlier this year over TikTok videos that he said compromised her “honor.”


Pakistan seeks Saudi support for desert reclamation, afforestation projects amid climate worries

Updated 11 July 2025
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Pakistan seeks Saudi support for desert reclamation, afforestation projects amid climate worries

  • Pakistan, Saudi Arabia signed an agreement in 2022 to cooperate in nine environmental areas, including desertification and biodiversity
  • Climate Change Minister Musadik Malik says he will soon visit the Kingdom to discuss climate collaboration between the two countries

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Climate Change Minister Musadik Malik has said that his ministry is seeking Saudi Arabia’s support for comprehensive climate projects that include desert reclamation, afforestation and carbon offset initiatives, amid Islamabad’s efforts to deal with climate-related challenges.

Pakistan has 4.2 million hectares of forest and planted trees, which equates to 4.8 percent of its total land area, according to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization. The country is currently focusing on combating desertification through afforestation, water management and sustainable agricultural practices.

Saudi Arabia, on the other hand, is playing a leading role in global climate action and launched in 2021 the Middle East Green Initiative (MGI) that aims to mitigate climate change impacts by raising $10.4 billion for clean energy, planting 50 billion trees and restoring degraded lands spanning 200 million hectares in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

In February 2022, the two brotherly countries signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to cooperate in nine environmental areas, including pollution control, nature protection, forestry, biodiversity, desertification, hazardous waste management, marine conservation, air quality monitoring and environmental training exchanges.

“I am going to work directly with them [Saudi Arabia] on climate initiatives, on claiming deserts, on building forests, and on [carbon] offsetting,” Malik told Arab News in an interview on Thursday.

“I just need a little bit more time to put a package together.”

He said Saudi Arabia had always extended its unwavering support to Pakistan and he would soon visit the Kingdom to discuss climate collaboration between the two nations.

“It’s on my table right now to put together those projects with carbon offsets, or whatever those initiatives are, and take them there, which are viable, real, doable and meaningful,” Malik said.

Pakistan, home to over 240 million people, is consistently ranked among the countries most vulnerable to climate change and has seen erratic changes in its weather patterns, which have led to frequent heatwaves, untimely rains, floods, storms, cyclones and droughts in recent years.

Malik said his ministry was working on green mobility and recycling initiatives in partnership with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, particularly the United Arab Emirates (UAE), to drive climate action to benefit the poor.

“They have sent me a letter about starting a movement on behalf of the entire world south… moving the recycling kind of revolution in a manner which serves the poor people of Pakistan,” he said.

In 2022, deadly floods submerged a third of Pakistan, claimed more than 1,700 lives and affected 33 million people, causing more than $30 billion in economic losses. 

So far this monsoon season, which began in late June, at least 87 people have been killed and 149 others injured in rain-related incidents across Pakistan, with the death toll expected to rise further as heavy rains continue to batter the South Asian nation.

But Malik believed the country was unlikely to face flood-like conditions similar to 2022 as the climate patterns showed a “balancing effect” between glacier melt and rainfall.

“Where the melting is increasing, the rainfalls are projected to decrease,” he said. “The signs, the projections that we have seen, the numbers that we have seen, basically show that hopefully we would have a good, decent, and manageable year.”

Speaking of Pakistan’s early warning systems, the minister acknowledged “serious gaps” in the mechanisms despite previous investments, saying efforts were underway to fix deficiencies that hinder timely disaster alerts.

“The early warning systems, after all of the investments that we’ve done… they are not able to give us warning in a timely manner… those systems are not working,” he said.

Asked about international climate funding to Pakistan post-2022 floods, Malik said the funding was declining due to Pakistan’s “limited absorptive capacity and lack of impactful projects.”

“We did not have a lot of absorptive power and even when funding was available, we did not come up with enough projects,” he said, adding that the country could only draw around $50-$70 million despite $500 million commitments.

He said his ministry had engaged youngsters from environmental sciences background to develop ideas, projects and startups to help attract international funding.

“We are going to come up with lowest cost, highest impact projects, and we are going to go after them,” Malik added.