M. Irshad Ullah
PESHAWAR: Former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Population and Welfare and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader from Chitral Saleem Khan has called for an immediate emergency to be declared in Chitral following devastating floods on August 3.
He accused both the federal and provincial governments of failing to respond to the crisis.
Addressing a press conference at the Peshawar Press Club, Saleem Khan said the floods had caused widespread destruction across Chitral, washing away bridges, damaging roads and other infrastructure, destroying crops and irrigation channels, and leaving at least three people dead.
“Pakistan has a Chitral on its map too, but it is currently devastated by floods,” he said, urging both the federal and provincial governments to immediately launch relief and rehabilitation operations.
According to Saleem Khan, the floodwaters have severely damaged the district’s communication infrastructure, leaving several areas effectively cut off from the rest of the country.
He said major roads and valley routes had become impassable, while residents of remote areas were being forced to travel on foot to reach Chitral city, with some taking between six and ten hours to make the journey.
“Hundreds of houses and bridges have been washed away, and Chitral’s entire infrastructure has been severely damaged,” he said, adding that petrol stations, roads, irrigation channels and standing crops had also been affected.
Saleem Khan criticised the provincial and federal governments for what he described as their “silence” in the face of the disaster.
“It has been three days since the floods devastated Chitral, yet neither the chief minister nor any provincial minister has even issued a statement expressing concern for the people of Chitral,” he said.
He also criticised the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), saying that despite having funds and resources for disaster response, neither institution had taken adequate action.
“The provincial and federal governments have remained silent as if Chitral has no connection with Pakistan,” he said.
Saleem Khan said the people of Chitral were facing an extremely difficult situation and that he was holding the press conference because neither the provincial nor the federal government had made a serious effort to assess the situation or inquire about the well-being of the affected population.
He demanded that the government immediately declare an emergency in Chitral and conduct a comprehensive assessment of the damage before launching a large-scale rehabilitation programme.
He also raised questions over the utilisation of funds allocated after the 2022 floods, claiming that Rs530 million released by the provincial government for flood-related work had still not reached Chitral.
“The Rs530 million allocated after the 2022 floods has still not reached Chitral and has disappeared somewhere along the way,” he alleged, calling for a transparent investigation into the funds and demanding that fresh relief and rehabilitation funds be released and utilised transparently in the affected areas.
The PPP leader also criticised Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Deputy Speaker Suraya Bibi, expressing disappointment over what he described as her failure to effectively raise the issue of Chitral’s flood devastation in the provincial assembly.
He alleged that even when the issue was raised, the matter was referred to a deputy commissioner instead of being addressed at the appropriate government level.
Saleem Khan warned that if the federal and provincial governments failed to declare an emergency and initiate immediate relief operations, he and other affected residents would be forced to take to the streets in protest.
“We will not hesitate to launch a protest if the government fails to take immediate action,” he said.