s pollution and declining water levels choke south Punjab’s rivers, the fisher folk who once thrived along these waters are being forced to migrate. With fish populations collapsing due to untreated industrial waste and environmental degradation, their centuries-old way of life is disappearing, turning them into climate refugees.

I meet a spakhiwaas (indigenous fisher-folk community) clan. They have found a new home on the bank of the Chenab river in Rangpur, 40 kilometres from Muhammad-wala head-works. Children, speaking to one another in Sindhi, play with the river water. From birth to childhood, from settlement to yet again displacement, the rivers in southern Punjab have offered them transient shelter. They have sometimes set up settlements on one bank and sometimes on the other.

The fishermen, who migrated from Sindh, have spent many years of their lives moving across southern Punjab. This particular family has camped at several points along the Indus River before settling along the Chenab river in Rangpur.

Abid Hussain Mirani makes a phone call to his brother, Sajid. The latter has been out fishing since 4 am. “We are seven brothers. Three of us have already abandoned fishing; our traditional way of life and our family’s profession,” he says. “Life has been like this for several years. All our ancestors were fishermen. Their life was all about living on the boats in river. But we have no other choice.”

The Miranis and six other families are now settled at Rangpur. Earlier they have lived in Multan for three years. “We will stay where we can make a living. This is not a new struggle. It has been on for some years now. If there are no fish in the river, how can we survive? Once a river is full of garbage and toxins, the fish do not survive. Nor do the fishermen” Abid says.

“The whole world knows how the fisher-folk are trying to along Indus river at Taunsa Barrage. We ended up deciding to find a home along the Chenab. But in Multan too, the conditions became unbearable; so we came to Rangpur.” For Abid and his family, this constant search for a place to settle is not a simple journey. It is the reason why his brothers have left this work. “We are drowning in grief, not just because the river cannot no longer sustain us, but also because the river itself is so polluted, “ Abid says.

From Sukkur to Taunsa Barrage, Layyah, Kalabagh, Chashma, Mianwali, Khushab, Multan and now to Rangpur, these fishermen have moved up and down the river. What happens when the river flow declines further? According to Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum’s chairperson, Ghulam Mustafa Mirani, the disposal of industrial waste and untreated sewage into rivers has caused a 60 percent decline in fish population over the past decade. “The government must take action before it is too late. To protect the fish population, the environment must be preserved. Only when the environment is healthy, can the community relying on fishing survive,” Mirani says.

“It is not about the Indus river or the Chenab; fishermen go where the fish are. However, the fish can only thrive in a clean and balanced ecosystem. In recent years, the decline in water levels and droughts have affected fishing. This is the reason why fishermen migrate so frequently. At its core, this is an environmental crisis,” says Mustafa Mirani.

“We are drowning in grief, not just because the river cannot help us, but also because the river itself is too polluted.”

For the fisherfolk community in Pakistan, survival is becoming a battle. “It is us. We are the most ignored people in the country. We are indigenous people, but no one cares for us,” says Mirani.

For generations, Pakistan’s fishing communities have followed the rivers to sustain their way of life. Now, the rivers are turning against them. Rising temperatures, declining water levels and pollution have made survival harder, forcing fishermen and their families into a cycle of displacement. 2024 was the hottest year of the 21st Century. Climate change is disrupting livelihoods. The country’s fish population is among those feeling its impact. “There is a specific season when fish lay eggs,” says Dr Ghulam Rasul, a former director general of the Meteorological Department. “But with rising temperatures, the breeding grounds have become too warm. This leads to the disruption of natural reproductive cycle, eventually leading to a sharp decline in fish population.”

For Pakistan’s fisherfolk community, this means reduced fish population and an uncertain future. In such conditions, entire communities are forced to leave their ancestral lands and migrate in search of new places.

Flowing near Multan, the Chenab river has long been a source of life for the people of the Punjab. Today, its waters carry more than the history and heritage. The river water is laced with industrial waste and sewage, making it toxic for both the life inside it and outside. While environment protection policies exist, enforcement remains weak.

The Environmental Protection Department has formulated various policies. The most alarming issue is that there is no specific policy for rivers, lakes and canals.

A comprehensive wastewater treatment plant was planned for Multan’s industrial estate. However, the project never materialised. Instead, the untreated waste flows into the Sikandari nullah, which empties directly into the Chenab river. A wastewater treatment plant has been set up in the northern part of Multan, but experts warn that the pollution load is far beyond its capacity.

The deputy director of the Multan Environment Protection Department acknowledges the crisis. He says, “We are a regulatory authority responsible for taking action against violators of environmental laws. The biggest problem is that there are no effective policies for wastewater treatment,” he says. “It is crucial to implement Punjab Environmental Quality Standards for surface water protection before the Chenab becomes a lost cause,” he warns.

The contamination of the Chenab is not just an environmental issue, it is a humanitarian crisis as well. Among those most affected by the river’s pollution are the fisherfolk communities who migrated to the banks of Chenab to sustain their livelihoods.

The PFF chairman says that more than 4 million people in Pakistan are directly dependent on fishing for their survival. However, pollution, declining fish populations and poor policies have made life unbearable for many of these communities, forcing mass migrations.

More than 30,000 people have migrated from Sindh to the Punjab and Balochistan in recent years. Migration to the Punjab, has been largely permanent.

The Chenab river is now choked with industrial and domestic waste, a threat to aquatic life and the fisherfolk. “The rivers are drying up and getting polluted. Where will the aquatic life go; and where will the fishermen go?” Mirani asks. “When the ecosystem collapses, the entire system collapses. This leads to displacement. Displacement always leads to suffering,” he warns.

The writer is a freelance multimedia journalist in Multan.