Latest news with #EdhiFoundation
Express Tribune
16-07-2025
- Climate
- Express Tribune
Homeless people scramble for survival
Listen to article Most of the people habitually complaining of the harsh weather or loadshedding schedule are comfortably resting on their memory foam mattresses in their air-conditioned rooms at night. However, for the homeless people spending their nights desperately seeking shelter while escaping police crackdowns, sleep takes over before they can even think about complaining. During the tenure of the previous elected government, Panah Gah or night shelter homes were established to help homeless people sleep safely at night. However, over the last three years, the Punjab government has shut down these facilities, as a result of which homeless people sleeping on roads and sidewalks are exposed to harsh weather conditions during the winter and summer months. In just Lahore alone, nearly 1,700 homeless people have lost their lives over the past three years. A homeless couple, Inam and Asiya, who now sleep near Lal Pul along the canal, shared their experience. 'A few years ago, we used to go to a shelter near the railway station at night where we'd get a bed and food. Then we'd go back to work the next morning. But for the last three years, the shelters have been shut. We've made a temporary place near Lal Pul. Sometimes the police hassle us, and we change our spot for a day or two. Although we can manage during the day, nights are our biggest enemy,' shared the couple. Edhi Foundation spokesperson Muhammad Younis Bhatti confirmed that the death rate among those sleeping on footpaths during the winter and summer months has significantly increased over the past three years, mainly due to the lack of shelters. 'Previously, shelters provided 8 to 10 hours of rest daily, but their closure has complicated the situation. In the summer, the footpaths are searing, while in winter, the frost intensifies the cold. Hence a spike in death occurs during these three to five months,' noted Bhatti. Read More: At least 12 killed, six injured in Lahore as rain lashes city According to sources of the Express Tribune, the highest number of unidentified deaths are reported from areas including Data Darbar, Bhati Gate, Tibbi City, Qila Gujar Singh, Muslim Town, Kahna, Shahdara, Kot Lakhpat, Lari Adda, Mozang, and Garden Town. While more than 170 permanent and temporary shelter homes were built across Punjab, including 13 in Lahore, there is now only one functional shelter home each in Multan, D.G. Khan, Taunsa Sharif, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Bahawalpur, and Sargodha, and just six remain operational in Lahore. Director Social Welfare, Muzammil Yaar, revealed that more than 50 per cent of the shelter homes were initially built in collaboration with philanthropists, but over time, most of them were closed. 'Even some of the shelters originally run by the Social Welfare Department have been shut down. A shelter home has a staff of over 10 people and caters to over a 100 people daily. The government has not allocated a significant budget to expand the shelter network. As a result, in Lahore and across Punjab, the closure of shelters over the past three years has directly contributed to the rising death toll among homeless individuals, especially those exposed to harsh weather or struggling with drug addiction,' conceded Yaar. 'A significant percentage of deaths reported among the homeless occur due to drug abuse, which is worsened by extreme weather. Many of these individuals become addicted simply to kill time, and in the past three years, drug abuse among them has increased by over 40 per cent,' claimed Syed Zulfiqar Hussain, a drug rehabilitation consultant. In the meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Punjab government claimed that although in the past, temporary arrangements were made for sheltering homeless people, the current government was working on a permanent solution to the problem.
Express Tribune
13-07-2025
- General
- Express Tribune
NADRA registers 106 orphaned individuals
The NADRA Regional Head Office Karachi has successfully registered 106 orphaned and unclaimed individuals from Edhi Centres during a special identity registration drive held from July 8 to 11. According to a NADRA spokesperson, the campaign was launched in collaboration with the Edhi Foundation to facilitate the legal identification of orphaned children and unregistered individuals residing at various Edhi Centres across the city. Out of the 106 registered individuals, 46 were minors, including 31 girls and 15 boys. Officials stated that obtaining legal identity through registration is crucial for accessing social and economic rights. The Director General of NADRA Karachi also visited the registration site to review operations and met with Edhi officials to discuss future collaboration. He reaffirmed NADRA's commitment to humanitarian initiatives and support for marginalised communities.
Yahoo
05-07-2025
- Yahoo
Several people killed in multistorey building collapse in Pakistan
A five-storey building has collapsed in Pakistan, killing at least eight people and injuring nine others, officials said, with rescuers searching through the rubble for more trapped victims. The incident occurred on Friday, shortly after 10am (05:00 GMT) in the impoverished Lyari neighbourhood of Karachi, which was once plagued by gang violence. Up to 100 people had been living in the building, senior police officer Arif Aziz told the AFP news agency. Shankar Kamho, 30, a resident of the building who was out at the time, said he got a call from his wife saying 'the building was cracking' and he told her to 'get out immediately'. 'She went to warn the neighbours, but one woman told her 'this building will stand for at least 10 more years.' Still, my wife took our daughter and left. About 20 minutes later, the building collapsed,' he told AFP. Residents also said the building was located on a narrow street, making it difficult for rescue teams to bring in additional heavy equipment. Television footage showed rescuers removing the rubble and evacuating nearby buildings as a precaution. Saad Edhi, of the Edhi welfare foundation that is part of the rescue operation, told AFP there could be 'at least eight to 10 more people still trapped', describing it as a 'worn-out building'. All six members of 70-year-old Jumho Maheshwari's family were at his flat on the first floor when he left for work early in the morning. 'Nothing is left for me now. My family is all trapped and all I can do is pray for their safe recovery,' he told AFP. Building collapses are common in Pakistan, where construction standards are often poorly enforced. Many structures are built with substandard materials, and safety regulations are frequently ignored to cut costs. But Karachi, home to more than 20 million, is especially notorious for poor construction, illegal extensions, ageing infrastructure, overcrowding and lax enforcement of building regulations. In June 2020, an apartment building collapsed in Karachi, killing 22 people.
Yahoo
05-07-2025
- Yahoo
Search on for survivors of Pakistan building collapse
A five-storey building collapsed in Pakistan on Friday, killing at least eight people and injuring nine others, officials said, with rescuers searching through the rubble for more trapped victims. The incident happened shortly after 10:00 am (0500 GMT) in the impoverished Lyari neighbourhood of Karachi, which was once plagued by gang violence and considered one of the most dangerous areas in Pakistan. Up to 100 people had been living in the building, senior police officer Arif Aziz told AFP. Shankar Kamho, 30, a resident of the building who was out at the time, said around 20 families were living inside. "I got a call from my wife saying the building was cracking and I told her to get out immediately," he told AFP at the scene. "She went to warn the neighbours, but one woman told her 'this building will stand for at least 10 more years'. Still, my wife took our daughter and left. About 20 minutes later, the building collapsed." The Sindh provincial health department said the death toll had risen to eight killed and nine injured late Friday. The search for survivors continued into the night, with relatives gathered near the site waiting for news. Saad Edhi, of the Edhi welfare foundation that is part of the rescue operation, told AFP there could be "at least eight to 10 more people still trapped", describing it as a "worn-out building". - Race against time - Nearby residents rushed to save their neighbours before rescuers took over to remove the rubble, along with at least five excavators. The heavy machinery struggled to access the narrow alleys, and police baton-charged residents to clear the way. All six family members of 70-year-old Jumho Maheshwari were at his flat on the first floor when he left for work early in the morning. "Nothing is left for me now -- my family is all trapped and all I can do is pray for their safe recovery," he told AFP. Another resident, Maya Sham Jee, said her brother's family was also trapped under the rubble. "It's a tragedy for us. The world has been changed for our family," she told AFP. "We are helpless and just looking at the rescue workers to bring our loved ones back safely." In June 2020, at least 18 people were killed when a residential building housing about 40 apartments collapsed in the same area of the city. Roof and building collapses are common across Pakistan, mainly because of poor safety standards and shoddy construction materials in the South Asian country of more than 240 million people. But Karachi, home to more than 20 million, is especially notorious for poor construction, illegal extensions, ageing infrastructure, overcrowding, and lax enforcement of building regulations. sam/ecl-ksb/sst
Al Jazeera
04-07-2025
- Al Jazeera
Several people killed in multistorey building collapse in Pakistan
A five-storey building has collapsed in Pakistan, killing at least eight people and injuring nine others, officials said, with rescuers searching through the rubble for more trapped victims. The incident occurred on Friday, shortly after 10am (05:00 GMT) in the impoverished Lyari neighbourhood of Karachi, which was once plagued by gang violence. Up to 100 people had been living in the building, senior police officer Arif Aziz told the AFP news agency. Shankar Kamho, 30, a resident of the building who was out at the time, said he got a call from his wife saying 'the building was cracking' and he told her to 'get out immediately'. 'She went to warn the neighbours, but one woman told her 'this building will stand for at least 10 more years.' Still, my wife took our daughter and left. About 20 minutes later, the building collapsed,' he told AFP. Residents also said the building was located on a narrow street, making it difficult for rescue teams to bring in additional heavy equipment. Television footage showed rescuers removing the rubble and evacuating nearby buildings as a precaution. Saad Edhi, of the Edhi welfare foundation that is part of the rescue operation, told AFP there could be 'at least eight to 10 more people still trapped', describing it as a 'worn-out building'. All six members of 70-year-old Jumho Maheshwari's family were at his flat on the first floor when he left for work early in the morning. 'Nothing is left for me now. My family is all trapped and all I can do is pray for their safe recovery,' he told AFP. Building collapses are common in Pakistan, where construction standards are often poorly enforced. Many structures are built with substandard materials, and safety regulations are frequently ignored to cut costs. But Karachi, home to more than 20 million, is especially notorious for poor construction, illegal extensions, ageing infrastructure, overcrowding and lax enforcement of building regulations. In June 2020, an apartment building collapsed in Karachi, killing 22 people.
