World Bank unhappy over fund diversion from Balochistan

ISLAMABAD: Expressing serious displeasure over reputational challenges, the World Bank has warned that redirecting funds from a multi-billion-rupee resilient housing programme for the flood-affected population to infrastructure projects would further aggravate poverty in Balochistan. “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,” the World Bank said in detailed communication to the federal and Balochistan governments. In this case, 84 per cent of eligible beneficiaries are ultra-poor and vulnerable, with 28pc earning less than $30 and another 26pc earning between $31 and $70 per month, while 39pc are tenants, 37pc are daily-wage labourers and 8pc are small farmers. These groups typically have limited savings, weak access to formal credit, few productive assets and low capacity to absorb shocks, WB said. After meetings with the federal minister for planning, the chief minister of Balochistan and others following the capping of housing support at 62,966 first-tranche beneficiaries as of June 22, 2026, and subsidy support to 97,000, World Bank’s country director Boloromaa Amgaabazar expressed concern over the decision as well as the handling of issues pertaining to fraud and corruption.

Cautions exclusion could deepen poverty, disaster risks, social tensions

She wrote to the federal secretaries for economic affairs and planning, as well as the secretary of Balochistan, that the capping and redirection of housing support was leaving 119,049 verified and eligible households without identified financing support. Its public disclosure before the finalisation of a jointly agreed communication strategy with the bank had also created risks, as households that had completed verification and signed the project undertakings might continue to expect housing assistance.

She wrote that 66,120 exclusion-related grievances had been registered in the project grievance management system on or before the agreed cut-off date. Therefore, each complainant should be contacted individually and formally notified of the decision. “Written acknowledgment, or other verifiable evidence confirming delivery and receipt of the communication, should be obtained and shared with the bank for review. A credible and transparent grievance resolution process is essential to mitigating legal, operational, and reputational risks associated with eventual closure of the component,” Ms Amgaabazar wrote. With the capping of housing support, eligible but excluded households may face a compounding cycle of vulnerability that not only reinforces poverty but increases it, raises disaster risk and undermines long-term recovery and resilience, diminishing the objectives with which the project was initiated. With limited resources, families may be forced to divert income from essential needs such as food, healthcare and education towards continued temporary shelter repairs, while also resorting to debt or the sale of productive assets to cope. At the same time, families unable to rebuild resilient homes may remain in damaged or unsafe structures, leaving them more exposed to recurring floods, storms, earthquakes and heatwaves. On top of that, the exclusion of verified eligible beneficiaries may also generate grievances, perceptions of inequity and unfairness, and continued erosion of trust in government institutions and development programmes, risks that have been observed in other housing reconstruction operations. Published in Dawn, August 11th, 2026