KARACHI: Sindh Minister for Irrigation, Planning and Development Jam Khan Shoro on Friday said the province is shifting from emergency flood response to long-term risk reduction and climate resilience.
He stressed the need for data-driven planning and integrated flood management.
The minister spoke at a workshop organised by the Sindh Irrigation Department, in collaboration with the World Bank under the Sindh Flood Emergency Rehabilitation Project, to present a study assessing flood risks and mitigation measures along the Indus River’s right bank. He said the devastating 2022 floods affected communities, damaged crops and disrupted livelihoods across Sindh province, demonstrating that rebuilding damaged infrastructure alone was insufficient to protect the province from future disasters.
As the lower riparian region of the Indus, he said, Sindh remained vulnerable to rainfall and changes in water flows upstream. While water was essential to the province’s agriculture and economy, its uncontrolled movement posed serious risks to communities and infrastructure.
He said the right-bank study provided an evidence-based framework for identifying mitigation measures and would help shape the proposed Sindh Flood Resilience Project (SFRP), focusing on protective infrastructure, early-warning systems, emergency preparedness and institutional capacity.
The Minister said the government also planned to extend comprehensive flood-risk assessment and planning to the Indus’s left bank, particularly in areas facing drainage problems, to develop an integrated flood-resilience strategy for the entire province. The government was committed to institutional reforms and improving water-resource management to strengthen its capacity to address future challenges.
Chairman, Sindh Planning and Development Board, Najam Ahmed Shah, Sindh Irrigation Secretary Zarif Khero, Pakistan’s Indus Waters Commissioner Mehar Ali Shah, Federal Flood Commission Chairman Athar Hameed, an Indus River System Authority member, World Bank specialists and other federal and provincial officials attended the workshop.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026