Master plan violations worsen Islamabad flooding

Islamabad’s latest flash floods followed 150 millimetres of rain, but the downpour alone did not explain the damage. Changes to natural drainage channels and construction along their rights of way helped turn heavy rain into an urban deluge.

The flooding badly affected three areas: E-11, Park Road near Comsats and Ghauri Town. City managers brought the situation under control under the supervision of Chief Commissioner and Capital Development Authority Chairman Sohail Ashraf. In E-11, where a mother and child died in floods in 2021, officials had already sealed houses considered at risk, and no loss of life was reported this time.

The drainage problems are especially visible around E-11. A nullah that entered from D-12 in 2012 had been narrowed by a housing society from 40 feet to 18 feet. The CDA also allowed the society to cover the watercourse. Before reaching E-11, the nullah had roughly 100 feet of right of way. Inside the sector, it narrows to about 18 feet and takes a sharp bend, creating a recurring flooding point.

Another nullah enters from the E-10 side and has also been squeezed. The two channels meet at a bottleneck, forcing water to surge outward. Several buildings and houses allegedly stand on the nullahs’ rights of way. E-11, in the city center, contains unauthorised high-rises and apartment buildings, as well as five cooperative housing societies. Three of those societies reportedly lack valid layout plans.

At Park Road, the Gumrah Kas nullah overflowed, flooding some basements and severely disrupting traffic. Satellite images from 2005 and 2026 showed that its route had changed substantially. The channel once crossed private land, while houses now occupy land along its former alignment after the waterway was moved through CDA-acquired property.