The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has expressed grave concern over extensive human and material losses caused by devastating floods.
It said in a statement that these disasters are “no longer merely natural”, but manmade, fuelled by “poor planning, land grabs, deforestation, corrupt practices and climate inaction, for which the state and successive governments must be held responsible”.
“While rescue and relief operations are underway, HRCP stresses that these efforts must be urgently expanded, with more rescue teams mobilised and more relief camps established with equitable access to food, shelter, clean drinking water and medical services,” HRCP said. “Particular attention must be given to the most vulnerable — women, children, the elderly and persons living with disabilities.”
The human rights body also highlighted the plight of climate refugees, who have been forced to abandon their homes and livelihoods. It urged the government to recognise and rehabilitate these displaced persons through long-term resettlement plans, access to housing and livelihood support.
“Failure to do so will only exacerbate poverty, marginalisation and social unrest,” the body warned.
“In the medium term, the consequences will be dire, including food inflation, urban migration and the collapse of already overstretched city infrastructure. With much arable land underwater and crops destroyed, food supply chains will be disrupted, causing an economic and humanitarian crisis.”
Sindh Rescue 1122 has said its teams have rescued more than 500 affected people across the province and shifted them to safe places amid the floods and rains.
In its daily update, it said teams are constantly on high alert and are fully prepared for any emergency situation.
Buyers in Pakistan are believed to have bought about five shipments of the grain sorghum from the United States after serious floods damaged Pakistan’s crops, Reuters reports European traders as saying.
The precise tonnage was unclear, but trader estimates were about 300,000 tonnes. Shipment is said to be between October to December.
Traders said they believed the sorghum had been purchased as a substitute for corn in poultry feed following recent heavy rains and flooding, which damaged Pakistan’s grain crops.
The heavy suspected crop damage means more import demand from Pakistan for grains, including wheat, is seen as possible, traders said.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed the NDMA to work with the Sindh government and the SDMA in light of the flooding situation in Karachi and other parts of Sindh, the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) reports.
PM Shehbaz “expressed sorrow over the drowning of citizens in the Gadap stream,” the APP said, and instructed authorities to locate the missing persons.
“The awareness campaign should be further activated to inform the public about the flood situation to protect as many citizens as possible,” PM Shehbaz said.
“The federal and Sindh governments are fully mobilised to deal with the flood situation,” APP quoted him as saying.
Pakistan Navy remains engaged in relief activities in flood-hit areas of Punjab, Sindh, and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
According to a press release issued by the Navy, hovercrafts have been deployed in the “flood-affected districts of Kashmore, Ghotki, Sukkur and Shikarpur in Sindh, to evacuate affected people.”
Over 4000 people and 125 livestock have been evacuated from these districts, the press release added.
Navy’s emergency response teams, working in coordination with the civil administration, also provided “food supplies, healthcare services and vital medicines to flood-affected communities,” the statement added.
Pakistan Navy’s emergency response team employs a hovercraft to rescue flood-affected
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said the federal cabinet will announce a climate and agriculture emergency after consultations today in view of the human and economic losses caused by the floods, Radio Pakistan reports.
Chairing the federal cabinet meeting in Islamabad today, he said a committee headed by Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal is also being constituted to deal with the situation arising out of floods.
PM Shehbaz said an apex-level meeting will follow the cabinet meeting to be attended by the four chief ministers to formulate a policy to cope with the current situation.
Chief engineer Shah did not rule out that another peak flow could reach the Guddu Barrage by late night or early Thursday morning.
An increase in the water level at Guddu Barrage was recorded this morning, according to officials present at the site.
Guddu Barrage Chief Engineer Sardar Shah told Dawn.com that the barrage received a flow of 502,844 cusecs in upstream discharge, while downstream flows stood at 492,443 cusecs.
He added, “After the barrage witnessed a rise, a flow of about 10,000 cusecs was released into Begar Sindh Feeder.”
Shah also said that the barrage upstream discharge dropped to 493,281 cusecs upstream and 471,549 cusecs downstream at 1pm.
According to him, a gauge installed at Chachran also recorded a decreasing trend, which means that the increase in the Indus River was seen only for a brief period.
The flow level of over 500,000 cusecs at Guddu marked a “high flood level”, according to classifications by the irrigation authorities.
Sindh CM Murad Ali Shah has issued instructions to authorities for the immediate drainage of water in Karachi’s Saadi Town.
The chief minister reached the area where he was briefed on the situation, Sindh Information Department said on X. He was informed that vehicles of the city’s water board, Rescue 1122, and cantonment board were engaged in drainage operations.
A report by the Punjab Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) highlights that over 4.2 million people, 1.58m animals, and more than 4,400 villages have been affected by devastating floods across Punjab.
The report stated that a total of 2,190 villages had been affected due to floods in the Chenab River, 651 villages in the Sutlej, and 1,495 villages in the Ravi.
According to Relief Commissioner Nabeel Javed, approximately 4.29m people have been affected by the flood situation. Javed added that around 2.19m people trapped in the floods had been moved to safe places.
“Four hundred and four relief camps have been set up in the districts affected by severe floods,” he said, adding that 488 medical and 421 veterinary camps had also been set up in the affected districts.
The report stated that at least 76 people had died in different incidents during the floods. In line with the directions of Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, the losses suffered by citizens will be compensated, according to Javed.
The commissioner stated that 1.58m animals had been relocated to safe areas during the rescue and relief activities in the affected districts.
He added that Mangla Dam is currently 90 per cent full, while Tarbela Dam has reached its full capacity. The Bhakra Dam on the Sutlej River in India is also 90pc full. Meanwhile, India’s Pong Dam is 99pc full, and the Thein Dam is at 97pc capacity.
Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has arrived in Multan, according to the provincial government’s post on X.
The video showed an aerial view of flood-affected areas in Multan and Jalalpur Pirwala.
The Punjab PDMA, citing the Pakistan Commission on Indus Waters, has warned the province’s downstream districts as Sutlej, Harike and Ferozepur were facing high flood levels.
In an alert, the PDMA requested district administrations to ensure the strengthening of embankments, activation of early warning systems and establishment of relief camps.
Local authorities in Gujrat have removed concrete slabs and other encroachments along the drain at the Old GT Road to improve drainage, as several areas remained submerged in floodwater.
Areas including Jail Chowk, Jinnah Road, Rehman Shaheed Road, Khawajgan Road, Ghareeb Pur, Qamar Sialvi, Ali Pura, Bara Darri, Jalalpur Jattan Road and adjoining localities were still inundated with the floodwater.
Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) and the local authorities remained busy clearing the affected areas of floodwater as residents feared outbreak of dengue, malaria and other infectious diseases in the city.
Kasur Deputy Commissioner Imran Ali has said that many families were not even ready to move the women and children to the nearby camps, where the Punjab government had provided the best possible facilities.
However, he said, they were not ignored and were given every possible facility at their doorstep.
In the Kanganpur area, scores of families were present across the river. The families were reluctant to move to relief camps or safer areas, and they complained of not getting ample food and medical facilities.
A flood-affected family in a small makeshift living arrangement said that the reduction in water level was a beacon of light for the residents of affected villages. However, they said that it would take a long time for them to resettle.
Scores of families had been living along the Ganda Singh Road with their animals
The Indian High Commission in Pakistan has issued another alert at 8am today about “high flood” at Harike and Ferozepur on the Sutlej river, a notification by the water ministry says.
Over 4,750 people have been evacuated from Multan’s Jalalpur Pirwala tehsil since yesterday, according to a video shared on the Punjab government’s X account.
Meanwhile, flood levels in the major Punjab rivers have receded, with downstream Sindh preparing for the deluge.
Ganda Singh Wala on Sutlej River had lowered to a “very high” flood, after witnessing “exceptionally high” levels for several days.
However, Sukkur and Guddu barrages on Indus River continued recording medium-level floods, with over 400,000 cusecs of outflows on the former and more than 500,000 cusecs on the latter
In view of the heavy monsoon rains in Karachi Division and further showers expected, the Sindh government has announced today as a holiday for educational institutions.
“All the educational institutions (public/private) will remain closed within the territorial jurisdiction of Karachi Division,” said a notification by the Karachi commissioner, dated Sept 9.
Rain-windstorm/thundershowers are expected in south Balochistan and lower Sindh, while scattered heavy falls are likely in south Balochistan during the next 12 hours, Radio Pakistan reports
Meanwhile, partly cloudy weather with rain-wind and thundershowers is expected at isolated places in northeast Punjab, Kashmir and adjoining areas.