ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s working masses and vulnerable eco-systems have been left at the mercy of profiteers and an unaccountable state apparatus, and only a meaningful ecological politics to transform the state and class relations can prevent the intensification of floods, smog and other climate breakdown events.

These sentiments were echoed by numerous speakers at a public seminar organised by the Awami Workers Party (AWP) at the National Press Club on Friday in the wake of ongoing floods that have devastated wide swathes of the country.

The event was attended by over a hundred students, progressive political workers, katchi abadi dwellers, intellectuals and ordinary citizens from across the twin cities as well as regions across Pakistan, according to a press release.

Speaking on the occasion, Bakhshal Thalho, Aasim Sajjad, Baba Jan, Neelum Nigar and Zubair Torwali highlighted that the 2025 floods, like those in 2022, were not a ‘natural calamity’ as much as a man-made disaster triggered by destructive profiteering and neoliberal development policies.

They highlighted the role of the timber and real estate mafias, big hoteliers, mining companies and the unbridled construction by various companies.

The speakers lamented the complete lack of concern of the political and intellectual mainstream to the floods, which seemed more interested in palace intrigues and the trappings of power.

They said the current government vacillated between photo opportunities in the name of flood relief on one hand, and garnering international aid in the name of climate change on the other hand.

Published in Dawn, September 13th, 2025