The Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa officially launched Pakistan’s first-ever sub-national Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) Policy at a high-level ceremony held at the Chief Minister’s House, Peshawar, marking a major step toward building a more resilient, climate-adaptive, and risk-informed province.
The event was jointly organized by the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) and the Relief, Rehabilitation & Settlement Department, Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, while the policy was developed with support from the German Government through the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
The launch ceremony brought together senior government officials, development partners, diplomats, humanitarian organizations, academia, civil society representatives, and media professionals.
Addressing the gathering on behalf of the Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Minister for Information and Public Relations Shafi Ullah Jan described the launch as “a critical milestone in our provincial history,” emphasizing that the policy represents more than a policy document.
“This is not merely a document, but our government’s solemn commitment to safeguarding the lives and properties of our 40 million citizens. We are now transitioning away from this reactive relief culture and advancing toward a culture of proactive preparedness, using scientific methods to anticipate risks and systematically mitigate their impacts before disasters strike,” he said.
Speaking on behalf of the German Ambassador to Pakistan, Ina Lepel, Head of Cooperation at the German Embassy, Dr. Mirjam Büdenbender-Buchholz, congratulated the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and PDMA on developing Pakistan’s first provincial DRR policy, reaffirming Germany’s commitment to supporting a more disaster-resilient province.
She described the policy as a significant achievement that reflects leadership and readiness to invest in the future. She noted that “disaster risk is building over time,” driven by factors including population growth, informal settlement expansion, insufficient land-use planning, and deforestation. She emphasized that Disaster Risk Reduction is “about reducing the likelihood and the impact of hazardous events in the first place.”
The five-year policy framework focuses on prevention and preparedness through early warning, risk-informed development, community resilience, disaster risk financing, and Adaptive Social Protection, with a particular focus on protecting vulnerable households from climate and disaster shocks.
The Chief Secretary of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa emphasized that disaster management must now be treated as an integral part of governance and development.
“Disaster management is no longer an additional or secondary function of the state,” he said, describing it as a fundamental basis of “sustainable governance” and “fiscal responsibility.”
The Head of Program, Adaptive Social Protection at GIZ Pakistan, Johanna Knoess, highlighted the practical significance of linking disaster risk management with social protection. She explained that the integration allows vulnerability to be understood from more than one perspective: “Not only: who is poor. And not only: who is exposed. But: where do both overlap.”
The Secretary of the Relief, Rehabilitation & Settlement Department described the launch as “the commencement of the implementation phase” of the policy, emphasizing that its success will depend on sustained collaboration across government departments and stakeholders.
The launch concluded with a renewed commitment by the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and its partners to translate the policy into concrete action and build a “Resilient Khyber Pakhtunkhwa” where disaster risk reduction, preparedness, inclusive development, and social protection are embedded in the province’s governance and development systems.
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