Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah has ordered the province’s commissioners to set up temporary shelter homes for homeless people this winter. The homeless will be provided blankets as well. Deputy commissioners across the province will have to ensure that people are facilitated well. In October, the federal government announced that five shelters will be built in Karachi and one in Islamabad. The Islamabad shelter is being built in collaboration with Turkey in Tarnol. It will be spread over four kanals and will accommodate 100 people. It will have a mosque and a separate prayer section for women as well. According to The Borgen Project, over 20 million Pakistanis are homeless while 35% of the total population falls under the poverty line. The 2005 earthquake in Pakistan’s northern areas and the 2010 flooding in Punjab swept away slums and thousands of temporary settlements. This increased homelessness across the country as victims have since been constantly relocating.
