Nearly 140 Die In Heavy Rains Hitting Pakistan, Afghanistan Impacting Children

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

ISLAMABAD/KABUL (Worthy News) – The death toll from unseasonable heavy rains in Pakistan and Afghanistan was approaching 140 across both countries amid concerns about many children without adequate shelter in the region.

In Afghanistan, at least 70 people were killed in flash floods and other weather-related incidents. At the same time, more than 2,600 homes have been destroyed or damaged, said Mullah Janan Sayeq, a spokesman for the Ministry of Disaster Management.

At least 62 people have died in the storms in neighboring Pakistan, which has been hammered by rainfall at nearly twice the average rate for this time of year, according to Pakistani officials.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, the Pakistani region bordering Afghanistan, appeared to be the most brutal hit, witnesses said.

Flash floods and landslides caused by torrential rains have damaged homes and destroyed infrastructure. Footage from the province shows roads turned into raging rivers and homes and bridges being swept away.

It also added to concerns about nearly 250,000 children who returned to Afghanistan from neighboring Pakistan.

A survey released Thursday revealed that they arrived over the past seven months with almost nothing, and they urgently need food, shelter, and access to education.

‘SAVE THE CHILDREN’

The study by the Save the Children charity said that more than 520,000 Afghans have returned home since September 2023 after Pakistan asked all undocumented foreigners to leave the country or face deportation. Nearly half of all the returnees are children.

Despite attending school in Pakistan, 65 percent of the children now back in Afghanistan are not enrolled in school, aid workers said.

The majority, 85 percent, told the surveyors they did not have the necessary documents to register and enroll in school.

The survey did not say how many girls were among the children questioned, as they also have to deal with the Taliban government’s ban on teenage girls’ education beyond the sixth grade.

There has also been concern about Christians in the area, with Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban enforcing its interpretation of Islam. The deadly impact of the heavy rains added to the misery.

Climate change-fearing experts view the unseasonable rains as confirmation of a human impact on the climate, while critics, including at least some critical scientists, would question that assessment.

The movement of people in previously uninhabited areas, as well as a lack of adequate infrastructure and water management, has also been linked to the high death toll.

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