Federal Minister for Climate Change, Senator Mussadiq Malik, has revealed that during recent natural disasters, poor communities were forced to sacrifice their homes while the resorts of powerful and influential individuals were saved.
Speaking on a television program, he said that Pakistan’s elite culture has created deep social injustice. Poor citizens cannot even secure a small piece of land along riverbanks, yet lavish resorts and farmhouses belonging to influential people stand tall right in the middle of rivers.
Mussadiq Malik stated that a lack of trust exists among provinces regarding dams and canal systems. Balochistan suspects its water is withheld, while Sindh receives water but does not pass it forward. Due to this mistrust, consensus never emerges. He emphasized that the permanent solution lies in the installation of a modern telemetry system, which is already in progress and expected to be completed within the next one to one-and-a-half years.
He further added that dozens of poor villages are demolished merely to protect a handful of elite resorts, while certain individuals continue farming in the middle of riverbeds, benefiting from the resources that should belong to all.
The minister warned that Sargodha has already begun to face flooding, and there are fears that when all rivers converge at Panjnad, water flow could reach as high as one million cusecs. He noted that advance measures are being taken to relocate people and livestock to safer areas, but many villagers are reluctant to leave their lands and homes. In one village, 30 people initially refused to evacuate, but after repeated persuasion they were moved, and today their area is submerged.
He stressed that without proper water reservoirs at the tehsil and district level, no sustainable solution is possible. Therefore, natural storage systems must be developed in every region to effectively manage future flood threats.
