Pakistan Flood Boat Capsize Kills 9 Amid Wider Crisis Impacting Millions, Christians Included

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent, Worthy News

LAHORE, PAKISTAN (Worthy News) – At least nine people have died in Pakistan’s Punjab province when a rescue boat capsized during flood relief efforts, authorities confirmed over the weekend amid massive death and destruction that also impacted the Islamic nation’s tiny Christian minority.

The Punjab Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) said the incident occurred on Thursday in a village near the historic city of Multan. When it overturned, the boat had already rescued 24 people from flooded areas, leaving 15 survivors who were later pulled from the water.

Rescue officials noted that many villagers refused to leave their homes without their cows, goats, and other livestock, often their only means of survival. “The rescue work in the region is tough because people are not cooperating,” the authority stressed.

The tragedy came as officials confirmed that floods triggered by this year’s intense monsoon rains and swollen rivers have killed at least 946 people nationwide since late June, including nearly 100 in Punjab. Vast farmlands have been inundated, destroying crops in what is considered Pakistan’s breadbasket.

Authorities said more than 4,500 villages have been submerged in Punjab alone, impacting over 4.4 million people and forcing some 2.4 million to evacuate. The province, home to half of Pakistan’s 240 million population, remains among the worst hit.

EVANGELIST STRUGGLING

Among those impacted are Christians such as Pakistani evangelist Suneeta Anwar P., 30, who told Worthy News she desperately tries to protect 42 children linked to her Bible study group and food program. “Some children live in our house, and some come daily. My husband and I have two children — our daughter is 4 years old and my son is 1 year old,” she explained.

Her village of Amrat Nagr, officially Chak 133/16-L, about 70 kilometers (43 miles) east of Multan, was on alert as rising waters at the nearby Sidhnai Headworks on the Ravi River placed Khanewal district among Punjab’s high-risk flood zones.

“We really need help, because food for children is over, and we are waiting for help. We want to shift children to a dry place,” she said.

She added that when waters surged overnight, “we woke up in the morning, the road outside our house was filled with water… There is a huge water storm in Pakistan; many people have drowned in the region.”

Despite the hardship, Anwar emphasized her faith: children in her ministry, she said, can already testify that even in these hardships, “Jesus loves me with everlasting love.”

BRICK-KILN WORKERS

Christians such as Anwar and her flock are among Pakistan’s most vulnerable.

Rights monitors and aid groups, including Caritas Pakistan and the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), confirm that most Christians in Punjab are landless laborers or bonded brick-kiln workers, rarely owning property.

That disproportionately affects them when floods destroy rented shelters or wash away daily wages.

Caritas has warned that “Christians, already among the poorest, have lost homes and livelihoods. Many survive as bonded laborers or sanitation workers, and floods hit them hardest.”

Additionally, Open Doors, a Christian advocacy group, documented during previous disasters that believers sometimes face discrimination in aid distribution, with Christians and Hindus often the last to receive food or shelter in relief camps.

NEW GOVERNMENT RESPONSE

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced that electricity bills for flood-affected households will be waived for August, and refunds will be given to those who have already paid.

Authorities said the measure is intended to ease the burden on families who lost homes and livelihoods.

However, the Pakistan Meteorological Department warned of more rain, wind, and thunderstorms between September 15 and 19 across several areas, including the provinces of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, as well as the Pakistan-administered regions of Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, raising concerns that fresh floods could worsen the crisis.

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