Pakistan neglects millions of flood victims in Sindh, activist tells UNHRC

A Sindhi political activist has drawn the urgent attention of the UN Human Rights Council to the millions of Sindhi flood victims who have been completely abandoned by the Pakistan government and are living in precarious conditions.

Speaking during the 52nd Session of UNHRC, Lakhu Luhana, general secretary of the World Sindhi Congress said: "The destruction caused by last year's mega floods and torrential rains is unprecedented in the recent history of Pakistan, impacting more than 30 million people and Sindh bearing more than 70 per cent of the losses, more than 20 million were impacted and more than 8 million became homeless in Sindh."

"We sincerely believe that climate change is not the only cause but Pakistan's poor and corruption-ridden governance is a bigger cause. After six months, millions of Sindhi people remain homeless without any meaningful government support and suffering poverty, disease, uncertainty, malnutrition, and death," he informed the Council


Lakhu Luhana said: "Pakistan is trying to cash the miseries of Sindhi people to get international aid, but we believe the Pakistfederal and provincial Governments do not want to rebuild devastated cities, towns, and villages of Sindh and lives of Sindhi people."

"Therefore, we request the UN and the International Community to undertake a thorough international investigation on how and why this catastrophe happened to result in unprecedented devastation of Sindhi people", he said by adding that all the international funds must be managed by the UN to ensure the help reaches to the people of Sindh, including the vulnerable and hard-to-reach communities of Sindh.

The Dawn recently reported that the floods in Pakistan were a reminder that the changing climate will bring more disasters in the near future, according to a UN report.

According to the United Nations' 2022 Year in Review report on Climate and Environment, in 2022, while some regions suffered from a lack of water, others were hit by severe floods.

"In Pakistan, a national emergency was declared in August, following heavy flooding and landslides caused by monsoon rains which, at the height of the crisis, saw around a third of the country underwater. Tens of millions were displaced," the report read.

"The UN is hosting an international conference on Climate Resilient Pakistan in Geneva on January 9 to consider various options for supporting the country in dealing with the consequences of the changing climate," according to The Dawn.