ISLAMABAD: Senate Standing Committee on Climate Change Chairperson Senator Sherry Rehman he said the government must move BISP support to the frontline tier of nearly three million flood-impacted people nationwide.
“This was done in 2022, so it is not a wheel anyone has to invent. People impacted by floods must be compensated and supported in difficult circumstances where they face homelessness, food insecurity and disease after floods,” she said while chairing the committee meeting on Wednesday. The committee endorsed her call. She said delays in financial transfers were causing misery among three million affected people. “Instead of considering mini budgets, the government should be mobilising international support which is already available. Pakistan should appeal to the UN, just as it did in 2022, when BISP transfers provided timely relief to families.”
The committee ordered the immediate mapping of Pakistan’s waterways and blockages on the floodplains of the Indus River and its tributaries, as well as water storage options that are affordable and impactful based on best practices everywhere. The committee questioned the PMD’s grossly incorrect predictions for rain in Karachi, raised by Senator Marri, while the GLOF 2 program in GB was identified as inadequate to meet rising and current risks to the area.
The chair took notice of Rawal and Simli Dams’ high water contamination levels, which three departments were unable to defend or even coordinate in their presentations. The NDMA chairman briefed the committee that 998 people lost their lives and 1,062 were injured in the current wave of floods, with three million affected in Punjab alone while nearly 300,000 displaced people are living in tents, while 2,000 relief camps are active across the country. Rescue operations are ongoing in Punjab and Sindh with support from the Navy and Army. The NDMA underscored that April 2025 was the hottest April in 65 years, winters are shortening while summers are lengthening, and the impacts of climate change are intensifying with erratic hail, flash flooding, and glacial melt. Sherry directed that immediate details of affected populations, their locations, and needs must be compiled and shared. She pressed for improved standards in relief camps, provision of water, electricity, and health services, and a transition plan from temporary shelters to permanent housing. Turning to the Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF-II) project, she expressed concern over what she described as “glacial slow governance”. She said despite Pakistan being among the most climate vulnerable countries in 2022, project delivery remains unacceptably slow. The committee was informed that only 15% of the GLOF-II budget has been spent on early warning systems (EWS) from 2017 to today.
The Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination said 30% project funds were consumed by administrative costs. Although the project was signed in 2017, out of 36 identified sensitive sites, and 48 valleys in peril, only 24 valleys have been covered, with 172 early warning systems operationalized.
Sherry remarked that people were suffering because of procurement delays, administrative bottlenecks, and poor coordination. “The communities of Gilgit-Baltistan are paying the price of systemic failures.”
UNDP and Ministry of Climate Change officials, under scrutiny by the committee, acknowledged that the first responders have not been integrated into the early warning systems. Terms of Reference (TORs) were drafted and sent for audit, but on-ground capacity assessments remain unclear. A ground committee with parameters for analysing sensitive valleys were established, but implementation has been slow. The Pakistan Meteorological Department is custodian of EWS specifications, yet equipment delays undermined the system.
Sherry stressed the urgency, saying: “We need to accelerate GLOF-II and build both buffers and resilience for people on the frontlines. What is the actual ground capacity? No one knows. But what we do know is that glaciers are melting, flash floods are increasing, and the people of Gilgit-Baltistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are suffering.” She said public hearings would be held in affected areas in GB to ensure transparency, accountability, and inclusion of local voices.
The committee also reviewed alarming findings on water safety in Rawal and Simly Dams. According to CDA officials Rawal Dam has been declared 100% unsafe, with surface water contamination rendering oxidation meaningless. It was told to the committee that a PCRWR study found that 62% of water available to consumers after filtration was unsafe for drinking. A report, covering July-August 2025, presented highly concerning and recent results.
The Supreme Court of Pakistan had earlier directed the Punjab government to act immediately on sewage contamination in Rawal Dam, but action has lagged. Sherry criticized the concealment of data: “The statistics have been merged to hide the real situation. Reports and presentations are inconsistent. When surface water is unsafe at source, filtration becomes meaningless. We are here to audit your work, not to remain silent spectators.” She demanded that transparency be ensured in water quality reporting and that urgent steps be taken to secure Rawal and Simly Dams from contamination risks, noting their centrality to Islamabad and Rawalpindi’s drinking water supply. “Pakistan is facing climate catastrophes every year. Relief must not be delayed, governance cannot remain this slow, and resources cannot be consumed by administration instead of frontline action. Whether it is flood relief, glacial melt, or drinking water safety, we need urgent course correction now.”