At least three million people across Pakistan are grappling with the aftermath of devastating floods, with Punjab and Sindh provinces bearing the brunt of the disaster, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) chairman told a Senate panel on Wednesday. Lt. Gen. Inam Haider Malik, addressing the Senate Standing Committee on Climate Change, revealed that hundreds of thousands of displaced individuals remain in temporary shelters, facing acute shortages of essential resources like potable water, power, and medical care.

The NDMA chief also issued a stark warning about the accelerated melting of over 50 glaciers in the country, leading to multiple glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) near populated areas. He underscored the critical deficiency in early warning infrastructure, noting that existing meteorological departments can predict rainfall but lack the capacity for comprehensive alerts.

Senator Sherry Rehman, chairing the committee, expressed strong disapproval over the slow progress of the GLOF-II project. She criticized the allocation of funds, pointing out that a mere 15% of the budget was dedicated to early warning systems, while administrative expenses consumed 30%. Rehman stressed the urgent need to map vulnerable areas and hold public consultations in the 24 high-risk valleys across Gilgit-Baltistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Ministry of Climate Change representatives acknowledged failures in the project’s implementation, admitting that some warning towers remain uninstalled and local disaster management agencies have not received timely information. The committee voiced serious apprehensions about the project’s operational status, despite its initiation in 2017.

Senator Rehman urged the government to provide direct financial aid to affected families through the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), replicating the assistance provided in 2022. She emphasized the need for activating international aid channels and ensuring transparent distribution of relief, prioritizing these efforts over supplementary budgets.