Due to relentless rains since mid-June, almost a third of Pakistan is flooded.
Floods hit Sindh and Balochistan and the southern districts of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa also witnessed the destructive power of overflowing rivers. So far, over 1,481 people have died and over 33 million people have been affected.
Kohistan's story was lost in the headlines, national and international, about the floods. Kohistan is located in the Hazara region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa best job ser.
In the past few months, the people of Kohistan have witnessed devastation of all kinds. Over 35 people died in Kohistan alone. The torrents destroyed hundreds of homes and thousands of acres of farmland. And the gushing floods washed away movable and immovable properties and threw them into the mighty river Indus.
As there is little news about Kohistan, even the government seems to be shirking its responsibility in the district.
People who survived the floods continue to live in poverty. Most sufferers have little food and are forced to spend nights in the open. Even after experiencing numerous natural disasters over the years, the state has no concrete and phased plan to help people reach normalcy.
Unfortunately, rescue operations are a comedy in the game. At best, the official plan can be seen as an ad hoc approach. Thousands of people are therefore stranded in the valleys without any relief goods as communication lines have not yet been restored.
Even air support operations are not enough. How can they be when there is only one helicopter serving three districts of Kohistan?
Another major problem facing the people and the authorities is the outbreak of diseases and the lack of medicines and medical facilities. Diarrhea and other diseases became widespread. People are dying and the state needs to be held accountable by 2m jobs web ser.
In the coming days and months, migration from Kohistan to other cities in the country will increase in view of the post-2010 flood social patterns. For example, in the Dubair Valley of Lower Kohistan, 25% of the population had to migrate after the 2010 floods.
As the situation on the ground is now much worse than in 2010, migration numbers will also increase.
"All wars (read misfortunes) are fought twice, first on the battlefield (read on the ground), second in memory," said Vietnamese-American novelist Viet Thanh Nguyen g hammad bhai. But in our case, the state hardly faces natural disasters. They are ordinary people who face such accidents.
Climate change has always remained a low-key topic in this country, where political discourse tends to revolve around personal vendettas and recriminations. So when Pakistan's recent "monsoon on steroids," as UN chief Antonio Guterres called it, played out, political entertainment was at its peak, with the national media covering the minor scorecards.
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