World Bank warns that redirecting flood‑recovery housing funds to infrastructure could deepen poverty in Balochistan.

The World Bank has expressed serious disapproval of Pakistan’s recent decision to divert funds from a multi‑billion‑rupee resilient housing programme for flood‑affected people to other infrastructure projects. In a detailed communication to federal and Balochistan governments, the bank warned that such a move would aggravate poverty in the province. The warning follows the capping of housing support, which limited the first‑tranche assistance to 62,966 households and the total subsidy to 97,000 households as of June 22, 2026. The bank notes that 119,049 verified and eligible households have been left without identified financial assistance. World Bank country director Boloromaa Amgaabazar wrote to government officials, stating: "Based on the socio‑economic profile of the eligible household, the risk is not simply that households remain without housing assistance; rather, it is that existing vulnerabilities become mutually reinforcing and deepen over time." Among eligible families, 84 % are ultra‑poor; 28 % earn less than $30 a month, 26 % earn between $31 and $70, and 39 % are tenants. Thirty‑seven percent are daily‑wage labourers and eight percent are small farmers. The bank warned that excluding these groups would reinforce existing vulnerabilities, deepen poverty and raise disaster risk. It feared that households might be forced to redirect income to temporary shelter repairs or debt, and that many would remain in damaged or unsafe structures, making them more exposed to recurring floods, storms, earthquakes and heatwaves. The report also notes that 66,120 grievance complaints related to the exclusion have been registered in the project grievance management system, and calls for a credible, transparent process to mitigate legal, operational and reputational risks.