Pakistan needs affordable, adequate and climate-resilient housing to close a growing housing gap, keep pace with rapid urbanization and cope with recurring natural disasters, UN-Habitat Pakistan Deputy Programme Manager Hamid Mumtaz Khan said in Islamabad on 17 October.
Speaking in an interview, he argued that housing policy must respond to how cities are expanding and to the damage disasters keep causing to homes and settlements.
Why the housing gap is widening
Khan said Pakistan’s housing deficit is being driven by fast urban growth and by the repeated impact of natural disasters. Together, those pressures leave many households without secure, adequate shelter and make it harder for the country to meet demand for new homes.
He stressed that solutions should be affordable for ordinary families, adequate in living standards, and strong enough to withstand climate-related and other disaster risks. UN-Habitat is the United Nations programme that works on towns, cities and human settlements.
Unplanned urbanization and informal settlements
According to Khan, rapid and often unplanned urbanization is feeding the spread of informal settlements and slums. When cities grow without clear planning for land, services and housing, people frequently end up in areas with weak infrastructure and insecure tenure.
He said recurring disasters have further intensified these housing challenges, adding strain where communities are already living in precarious conditions.
What officials say is needed next
Khan’s message focused on building and supporting housing that is both within reach of households and resilient when floods, storms or other shocks hit. He framed that agenda as central to managing urbanization pressures rather than as a side issue.
How federal and provincial governments, city authorities and development partners turn that call into programmes, finance and local plans was not detailed in the remarks available. What is clear from his comments is the priority he places on affordable housing that can survive Pakistan’s disaster cycle and serve a fast-urbanizing population.
Aasan alfaaz mein
UN-Habitat ke aik official ne kaha hai ke Pakistan ko sasti aur mazboot gharoon ki zaroorat hai. Shehron ke tez aur be-tarteeb barhao se katchi abadiyan badh rahi hain. Bar bar ane wali natural disasters se masla aur gehra ho jata hai. Aam logon ke liye is ka matlab yeh hai ke mehfooz aur qabil-e-bardasht kiraya ya ghar milna ab bhi aik bada challenge hai.
