Balochistan, October 3 (Daily Kiran) : Thousands of families in Balochistan, Pakistan, are still waiting for permanent housing four years after the devastating floods of 2022. A recent report highlights that over 134,000 flood-affected families were verified for assistance, but the scope of the World Bank-funded Integrated Flood Resilience and Adaptation Project (IFRAP) has been limited to approximately 69,000 homes.
Additionally, a proposed financial aid of $180 million from the World Bank has been withdrawn. This funding could have been used to increase housing coverage but has instead been redirected towards infrastructure projects such as roads and irrigation.
According to a report by Maldives Insight, these figures raise serious questions about the government’s commitments to post-flood rehabilitation, particularly concerning Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s promise to provide disaster-resistant homes to families who lost their houses.
Although the floodwaters receded long ago, the disaster remains ongoing for thousands of families whose homes are either damaged or completely destroyed. The rebuilding process has stalled in many areas, and discrepancies in government promises, funding, and official data have led to allegations of irregularities.
The 2022 floods severely impacted large parts of Pakistan, but Balochistan was particularly hard hit due to its geographical conditions, weak infrastructure, and socio-economic vulnerabilities.
In May 2023, the World Bank approved $213 million for the IFRAP, with plans to assist around 35,100 homeowners in rebuilding disaster-resistant houses. However, a project steering committee led by Pakistan’s Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal and Balochistan’s Chief Minister Sarfaraz Bugti decided in June 2026 to limit housing coverage to about 69,000 homes. They also declined to approve the additional $180 million in financial aid.
As a result, available resources have been diverted to other infrastructure projects, directly affecting the verified families who were hoping for housing assistance under the original plan.
In January 2023, Pakistan secured over $9 billion in international commitments for flood relief, rehabilitation, and reconstruction at a conference in Geneva. Following this, initiatives were launched to rebuild better and more resiliently. However, with administrative decisions and project restructuring in Balochistan, the scope for rebuilding disaster-resistant housing continues to shrink. The report concludes that while the 2022 floods were a natural disaster, the incomplete rehabilitation has now become a question of government accountability.
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