Islamabad [Pakistan], August 18 : Pakistan's Prime Minister's Coordinator for Information on Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Affairs, Ikhtiar Wali Khan, has expressed grave concern that as many as 1,000 people may have died in the recent flash floods in KP, ARY News reported.
Wali said he had personally visited the flood-hit areas and witnessed large-scale devastation. "Entire villages have been wiped out. In Buner's Chagharzi area, massive destruction has taken place, while the village of Bashoni has completely disappeared from the map," he said as quoted by ARY News.
"Some of the rocks carried by the floodwaters were bigger than trucks. Houses along the riverbanks have vanished without a trace, and whole families have been swept away with no one to even report them."
He revealed that official figures only reflect the bodies brought to hospitals--around 300 so far--but many more casualties remain unreported.
Describing the situation as a human tragedy, he warned that in Dir alone, deaths could exceed 1,000, while over a thousand people are still missing, as per ARY News.
"Mass burials are taking place", he said. "I have returned from Buner with a heavy heart after witnessing this disaster with my own eyes."
According to Pakistan's National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), at least 657 people, including 392 men, have died due to rain-related incidents across Pakistan since June 26, while 929 others have been injured, ARY News reported earlier.
Of the total fatalities, 171 were children and 94 were women. Among the injured, 437 were men, 256 children, and 236 women.
The NDMA said the casualties were caused by torrential monsoon rains, flash floods, and related hazards, adding that it was coordinating with provincial authorities to intensify relief and rescue operations in the worst-hit areas.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province has suffered the heaviest losses, with 390 deaths -- including 288 men, 59 children, and 43 women. KP also reported 245 injured (161 men, 45 children, and 39 women), as per ARY News.