Living in Islamabad and Struggling? How PHWO Can Be Reached

Islamabad looks prosperous from Margalla Road, but many of the people who keep the capital running live on thin margins. Drivers, guards, domestic workers, sanitation staff, shop assistants and students from other provinces pay some of the highest rents in Pakistan out of modest wages. When an illness or a lost job hits, they start searching for an NGO in Islamabad that will take them seriously.

Anyone living in the capital may turn to PHWO (Peace and Humanity Welfare Organization) for support that costs nothing. It has no office, desk or worker in Islamabad; its only registered premises are in Larkana, Sindh. From a flat in G-9, a servant quarter in F-7 or a room in Bhara Kahu, you reach it the same way: Message PHWO in a free PHWO account, email or the website.

Islamabad's people: a quick picture

The 2023 district census report for Islamabad Capital Territory counted 2,363,863 residents. Just under half, about 1.1 million, live in the urban area planned by the Capital Development Authority; the rest live in villages and fast-growing rural localities around it. Punjabi is the largest mother tongue at about 52%, followed by Pashto at about 18.5% and Urdu at about 12% (PBS census report). That mix reflects a city built by migrants from every province.

Where city life becomes hard

• Rent. A family on a guard’s or driver’s salary can spend most of it on a room. Rent arrears and loans from employers are common.
• Katchi abadis. Several informal settlements inside the sectors house sanitation workers, domestic staff and other low-paid families with little security of tenure. When a settlement faces removal, households can lose their shelter and their livelihood in the same week.
• New arrivals. People who moved from Swat, Kashmir, south Punjab or interior Sindh for work often have no relatives nearby to borrow from when a salary is late.
• Students far from home. Young people who came for university often support themselves with part-time or online work and cannot afford a working laptop.
• Women on their own. Separated or widowed women living in the city may be far from family and unsure where to turn in a legal dispute.

Asking for financial help in Islamabad

PHWO receives many requests for a laptop or phone so that someone can attend classes or take on paid work, for ration, and for relief from debt. In Islamabad, debt often means overdue rent, a loan from an employer, or medical bills from a private hospital. Medical costs, fees and other needs can also be explained.

Open the Request help form, add a live photo of yourself, and tell your story in your own words. Students should mention their university, whether that is Quaid-i-Azam University, NUST, COMSATS, IIUI or another. Volunteers go through every application closely. If they find the need genuine and PHWO can meet it, help is set up; if not, it cannot be. No time frame is offered to anyone.

One caution for the capital: nobody is authorised to collect fees, documents or cash for PHWO at your door, in a market or at a bus stop. Everything is free and happens online.

Free legal aid in Islamabad: family cases in the capital's courts

Most people who approach PHWO for a lawyer have a family matter: maintenance, custody or visitation, khula, or dowry articles held back by in-laws. In Islamabad these go to the family courts under the district and sessions judiciary, with the Islamabad High Court above them.

Describe your situation through free legal aid. No FIR is needed first. If a child’s custody is at stake or a hearing is close, say so, because those are read first. A volunteer advocate may take the case if one is free; that cannot be promised.

Public services in the capital

• PIMS (Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences) in G-8 and the Federal Government Polyclinic in G-6.
• Rescue 1122 Islamabad for emergencies.
• 15 for Islamabad Capital Territory Police.
• BISP offices for Kafaalat and scholarship support.
• The ICT Administration, including the Deputy Commissioner’s office and the Zakat set-up for the territory.
• Islamabad High Court for information on cause lists and appeals.

Volunteer in Islamabad

A city full of lawyers, teachers, civil servants and IT workers is a good place to find volunteers. PHWO especially wants advocates practising in the Islamabad courts, and fundraisers, including families from Islamabad now living abroad. Many volunteers also come from neighbouring Rawalpindi. Sign up through the volunteer form; your work is recorded with a certificate and, later, written letters thanking you and confirming your experience, useful for a job or a university application.

Companies, schools and associations in the capital can discuss working together on the Partner page.

Giving from Islamabad

Residents can donate money or goods online, and diaspora donors can do the same from abroad. PHWO passes every rupee of Zakat and Sadaqah to people who need it. Work out what is due with the Zakat calculator, or back one checked family through Sponsor a case. Parents hoping to settle a son or daughter may prefer the Rishta Desk: free, for all faiths, checked with a live selfie and reviewed by PHWO staff, with the final choice left to the families and no match assured.

Public services in Islamabad you can also use

• Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS)Federal teaching hospital, G-8
• Federal Government PolyclinicPublic hospital, G-6
• Rescue 1122 IslamabadEmergency service
• Islamabad Capital Territory PolicePolice, dial 15
• ICT AdministrationDeputy Commissioner and district services
• Islamabad High CourtAppeals and cause lists
• Benazir Income Support ProgrammeCash support for eligible families

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

Frequently asked questions