- Musadik Malik warns of worsening crisis, saying ‘no poor man’s hotel on the riverbank— only resorts of the powerful’
ISLAMABAD:Federal Minister for Climate Change Senator Musadik Malik on Friday said that Pakistan’s worsening flood devastation is rooted in an entrenched “elite culture,” where riverside lands and properties are occupied by the powerful rather than the poor.
“There is no poor man’s hotel on the riverbank—only resorts of the powerful,” Malik remarked during an interview on a TV channel on Friday.
The minister said mistrust over water management remains deep among provinces, with each suspecting the other of withholding water. “Balochistan believes it is deprived and that Sindh gets water but does not pass it on,” he noted.
He identified a telemetry system as the only viable solution to end the mistrust, adding that installation work had already begun and was expected to be completed within a year.
Malik also pointed out that cultivation inside riverbeds had intensified flooding in several areas. Warning of a worsening situation, he said Sargodha had already started feeling the impact, and once the rivers converge at Panjnad, water flow could surge to one million cusecs.
He said evacuations were carried out in advance based on warnings, with both residents and livestock moved to safety. In one case, 30 villagers initially refused to leave but were persuaded to evacuate; floodwaters have since inundated their area, he added.
The minister emphasized that without developing water reservoirs at the tehsil and district levels, Pakistan would remain highly vulnerable to recurring disasters. He called for creating natural water reserves across the country to strengthen long-term resilience.
Pakistan has been battered by torrential monsoon rains since late June, which triggered flash floods, swelled rivers, and filled dams, leaving over 800 people dead. The situation was worsened this week when India released excess water from its dams, swelling river flows downstream into Punjab.
According to the NDMA, more than 210,000 people have been evacuated from low-lying villages near the Ravi, Sutlej, and Chenab rivers. Pakistani officials said India has issued three flood warnings since Sunday—two for the Ravi and the latest for the Sutlej.
