Along the mighty Indus, stories of a changing river and evolving relationships

On its 3,100-kilometre course from the mountains of Tibet to the Arabian Sea, the mighty Indus River flows through foothills and plains, national parks, lands that have been denuded of their forests, fertile farmland and bustling towns. Along the way are dams and barrages, with large hydropower and irrigation projects affecting the natural flow of the river.

The Indus provides almost 90% of the water for agriculture in Pakistan, but its waters can also take lives through floods. For the herders, farmers and fishers of the Indus basin, the river is a way of life, providing them with livelihoods and sustenance, yet it possesses the power to strip them of their homes, businesses and livestock with just one flood. They fear as well as revere the river.

Floods are an ever-looming threat in the Indus basin. Between 1950 and 2010, 21 major floods killed a total of 8,887 people, while immense floods in 2022 killed more than 1,700 and displaced nearly 8 million. The government estimated that an additional 8.4-9.1 million people would be pushed into poverty as a result.

The Third Pole travelled down the Indus, from the mountains of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the north to the desolate villages of Sindh in the south, meeting people who depend on the river. We heard stories of...

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