Where the Indus Meets the Suleman Range: Applying to an NGO in Dera Ismail Khan

Dera Ismail Khan sits where Khyber Pakhtunkhwa meets Punjab and Balochistan, on the west bank of the Indus. Its famous Dhakki dates, its cotton and sugarcane fields and its Saraiki songs make it feel unlike any other part of the province. But the district also has deep poverty, dangerous hill torrents and a long history of families arriving from conflict areas. Anyone typing NGO in Dera Ismail Khan into a search bar is probably facing one of them.

Peace and Humanity Welfare Organization (PHWO) welcomes requests from D.I. Khan city, Paharpur, Kulachi, Daraban, Paroa and Darazinda. Before anything else, please note that you will not find a PHWO office, centre or worker in the district. PHWO operates only from Larkana in Sindh, and applicants apply online, call, or get a volunteer to help. Our services are all free. Requests are verified and assessed, and help is arranged where a verified need can be met, without any guarantee.

Two languages, one district

The 2023 Census counted 1,829,811 people in Dera Ismail Khan District, about 20 percent of them in urban areas (PBS table 1). It is the only large district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa where Pashto is not the majority language: the Census mother-tongue table shows about 66 percent speaking Saraiki and about 32 percent speaking Pashto.

You can explain your request in either language, or in Urdu. Volunteers can help translate so the person reviewing your case understands you properly.

Hill torrents from the Suleman mountains

The western plains of the district, the area called Daman, are fed by rod-kohi, the seasonal torrents that rush down from the Koh-e-Suleman when it rains. They bring water for crops, and in bad years they bring disaster. In August 2022, flash floods and hill torrents from the Suleman range and the South Waziristan hills killed 12 people across the district and injured more than 50, with deaths in D.I. Khan tehsil, Kulachi and Darazinda, according to the Associated Press of Pakistan. Mud houses collapsed and standing crops were washed away.

The torrents also cut roads between villages for days, so families could not reach markets or clinics, and some lost the stored wheat that was meant to feed them until the next harvest. Recovery for a small farmer can take several seasons.

If a torrent has destroyed your home, crop or livestock, apply through Request help. Include pictures of the damage and, if you have it, any damage survey slip from the district administration.

Daily needs in D.I. Khan: ration, debt and devices

Much of the district’s work is seasonal: date picking in summer, cotton and sugarcane harvests, labour in the grain markets and on the Indus bridges and roads. Between seasons, households borrow from shopkeepers and landlords. That is why debt appears in so many requests from areas like this, alongside ration for families who have run out.

Students at Gomal University and the city’s colleges often come from villages with no internet at home. A laptop or smartphone can make the difference between finishing a degree and dropping out, or between idle months and freelance income. You can ask for a device for study or work in the same form; attach your student card or proof of the work you plan to do.

An NGO in Dera Ismail Khan for family court cases

Because Peshawar’s High Court keeps a permanent bench here, appeals from the southern districts can be heard close to home, and the district and family courts sit in the city. Khula, maintenance and child custody are the cases PHWO hears about most. With Free legal aid, volunteer advocates can look at your papers and advise you. You may ask without an FIR, and custody disputes and cases with a hearing soon are read first.

The bench’s cause lists are on the Peshawar High Court website. The local bar association and the legal empowerment committee attached to the sessions court are further options for people who cannot pay a lawyer.

Government and emergency services to know

• Mufti Mehmood Memorial Teaching Hospital and the District Headquarters Hospital in D.I. Khan city.
• Dial 1122 after a crash on the CPEC western route or when floodwater traps people; 15 for police.
• BISP: a woman can text her CNIC number to 8171 to learn whether she qualifies; the BISP website has details of Kafaalat and Taleemi Wazaif.
• The District Zakat Committee of D.I. Khan.
• The KP Provincial Disaster Management Authority, helpline 1700, for torrent and flood warnings.

Giving and volunteering from the district

Date traders, landowners and families with relatives in the Gulf or Europe can all support people in need in their own district. Use Donate to give money or goods from Pakistan or overseas. Zakat and Sadaqah given this way reach deserving people complete, without deductions. If you want to know exactly whom you are helping, Sponsor a case lets you pick a verified request.

Advocates in D.I. Khan who can spare time for family cases are especially needed, and so are fundraisers at home and abroad. Register on the Volunteer page to receive a certificate, a letter of appreciation and an experience letter for your work.

Public services in Dera Ismail Khan you can also use

• Peshawar High Court, D.I. Khan BenchAppeals and writs for the southern districts
• District and Sessions Courts D.I. Khan (family courts)Khula, maintenance and custody
• District Bar Association D.I. KhanReferral to advocates
• District Legal Empowerment Committee D.I. KhanLegal aid for poor litigants
• Mufti Mehmood Memorial Teaching HospitalGovernment teaching hospital
• Rescue 1122Dial 1122
• PoliceDial 15
• BISP office D.I. KhanSMS CNIC to 8171
• District Zakat Committee D.I. KhanGovernment zakat
• PDMA Khyber PakhtunkhwaHelpline 1700

These are public or independent services, listed to help you. They are not part of PHWO.

Frequently asked questions