Multan Families: Free Legal and Welfare Support from PHWO

Multan, the city of saints, sits between the Chenab and the Sutlej in the heart of the Saraiki belt. It is a place of shrines, mango orchards and cotton, but also of scorching summers and river floods. People who look up an NGO in Multan are often dealing with one of three things: a family court case, a flooded field, or an empty kitchen.

PHWO, short for Peace and Humanity Welfare Organization, is non-sectarian and run by volunteers. Its one and only office is in Larkana, Sindh. It has no branch, camp or employees in Multan. Families here reach it online through phwo.org, and nothing it offers carries a fee.

Family cases: khula, maintenance and custody

Legal questions from south Punjab reach PHWO most often in the form of family disputes. A wife who has been sent back to her parents’ house with her children and no maintenance. A mother who fears the father will take the children across the district. A woman whose khula petition has stalled for months.

Multan has a Lahore High Court bench and its own family courts. Through PHWO’s free legal aid, you describe your situation and upload any papers you have: nikahnama, court notices, previous orders. Volunteer advocates go through them. Custody and matters with an early hearing date are taken up before the rest. You do not need an FIR. If a volunteer lawyer is available, PHWO will connect you; it cannot guarantee one.

If you are being threatened or beaten, call 15 or the women’s helpline 1043 straight away.

The 2025 floods and what they left behind

In late August and September 2025, the Chenab, Ravi and Sutlej all overflowed. Arab News reported that nearly four million people in Punjab were affected and that the floods threatened Multan itself, where embankments were breached and hundreds of thousands were moved out of riverside areas (Arab News). Villages around Jalalpur Pirwala and Shujabad lost crops, livestock and homes.

Many families are still repaying loans taken to rebuild. If that is your situation, the request help form accepts requests for disaster losses and debt. Include pictures of what was lost and a live photo of yourself. Volunteers check each case; help is arranged only where the need is confirmed and can be met, and nothing is certain in advance.

Multan in brief

• Population: 5,362,305 in Multan District (Census 2023), with 46.6% urban.
• Tehsils: Multan City, Multan Saddar, Shujabad and Jalalpur Pirwala.
• Language: Saraiki is the majority mother tongue, with Punjabi and Urdu widely used in the city.
• Economy: cotton, mangoes, wheat, handicrafts such as blue pottery and camel-skin lamps, and trade.
• Air: in November 2024 Multan was one of two cities, with Lahore, placed under smog restrictions by the Punjab government.

Public services you can use in Multan

• Nishtar Hospital, the main public teaching hospital of south Punjab, and the Children’s Hospital Multan.
• Rescue 1122 for accidents, drowning and flood rescue.
• Dial 15 for police; women can also ring 1043.
• BISP offices for Kafaalat payments.
• Punjab Social Welfare and Bait-ul-Maal and the district zakat committee.
• The Lahore High Court Multan Bench and the District Bar.

Students and ration in the Saraiki belt

Bahauddin Zakariya University and the many colleges around it draw students from Vehari, Lodhran, Khanewal and Muzaffargarh. Some of them apply to PHWO for a laptop so they can submit assignments or take on online work. Others write about ration because a father’s cotton picking income ended with the season. Both kinds of request are welcome; be specific about your course, your family’s income and what you need.

Volunteer in Multan

South Punjab has too few free lawyers for the number of family cases. If you are an advocate at the Multan bar, a few hours a month on PHWO cases makes a real difference. Non-lawyers can help by raising funds or by helping applicants fill in forms correctly. Register on the volunteer page; PHWO issues a certificate, an experience letter and a letter of thanks.

Rishta Desk for Multani families

In south Punjab, many family disputes that later reach the courts began with a rushed or poorly checked marriage. PHWO’s Rishta Desk is free and open to people of every faith. Profiles are checked with a live selfie compared with their photos, and PHWO staff review each one. The decision always stays with the family, and a match is never guaranteed. Take your time, ask questions, check the other family through people you trust, and never pay anyone who claims to speak for PHWO.

Zakat and donations from Multan

Mango growers, cotton traders and Multani families abroad can give through PHWO. Money and goods are both accepted, from inside Pakistan and from overseas, and Zakat and Sadaqah go entirely to people in need. To choose a single verified family, use Sponsor a case.

Public services in Multan you can also use

• Nishtar Hospital MultanPublic teaching hospital (Nishtar Medical University)
• Children's Hospital MultanPublic children's hospital
• Lahore High Court, Multan BenchHigh court cases for south Punjab
• Rescue 1122Emergency and flood rescue
• PDMA PunjabFlood warnings and relief updates
• Benazir Income Support ProgrammeCash support for eligible families
• District Administration MultanDeputy Commissioner's office

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

Frequently asked questions