The Vicar General of the Diocese of Islamabad-Rawalpindi explains the dire situation the country is facing after the floods and the recovery efforts Christian communities are making to offer support.
By Kielce Gussie
As of 21 August, the United Nations reports that almost 1,000 people have been injured and more than 2,400 homes have been destroyed or damaged due to the heavy rainfall and flash flooding that took place between 15 and 19 August across Pakistan.
According to Fides, the Vatican’s news agency, since the beginning of July, the country has endured torrential monsoon rains, which have led to landslides and flash floods. Over 650 people have been killed over the last two month.
The Vicar General of the Diocese of Islamabad-Rawalpindi and National Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies (PMS), Fr. Asif John Khokhar, says people in his area of Rawalpindi remain “on high alert.”
In dire straits
The Vicar explains the devastating rains continue to fall and are forecasted to go on for another week. The flash floods caused many villages to be decimated and hundreds of people were killed. “The situation is dire,” Fr. Khokhar stresses, “The nation is on its knees.”
Local authorities in Pakistan have declared a state of emergency in nine districts. The UN states children have been hardest hit as they have been displaced, lack schooling, and face limited access to safe drinking water.
A view of the damaged family house of Noor Muhammad, 25, who lost 24 family members and relatives, which was hit by devastating floods in the mountainous Qadir Nagar village of Buner district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province (AKHTAR SOOMRO)
Fr. Khokhar highlights that the mountainous province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the north-western part of the country was hit by landslides and buried many families.
“We are facing great uncertainty. Communication is difficult, and the rains continue, making aid to those affected extremely challenging and sometimes impossible,” the Vicar General explains. There is no power and no phone service. He describes how the priests in the northern parishes are alive, but that many of them are “living in disastrous conditions and life-threatening situations.”
Doing what they can
Efforts are being made to provide relief to the areas in need, but the provincial government is still facing difficulties. As Fr. Khokhar shares, “the Christian communities, especially through Caritas and individual parishes, have begun to show solidarity and offer help, as much as they can.”
man clear water from a home flooded by heavy rain in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan (ANSA)
In central Pakistan, Fr. Francis Gulzar – a parish priest of St. Joseph’s Church in the Archdiocese of Lahore – recounts how devasted the area is as homes and crops were destroyed. But the communities have risen to the aid of those around them.
He describes how churches, parishes, and schools have become places of shelter and refuge for anyone in need—providing food and support. “The displaced are both Muslims and Christians. It makes no difference—we are here to help suffering, impoverished, and desperate humanity,” Fr. Gulzar stresses.
