KARACHI: A deaf and mute man, allegedly an Indian national, was swept by flood waters from the Sutlej river into neighboring Pakistan this week, Pakistani police and rescue officials said on Wednesday, as monsoon rains continue to lash both South Asian countries.
Under the Indus Waters Treaty, which was brokered by the World Bank and signed between Pakistan and India in 1960, India has control over the waters of the three eastern rivers – the Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej – while Pakistan controls the waters of the three western rivers, the Indus, Chenab, and Jhelum. This month, heavy monsoon rains have forced India to release thousands of cusecs of floodwater into Pakistan as unusually heavy monsoon rains have triggered flash floods and landslides in both countries.
Deaf and mute man, allegedly an Indian national, can be seen at the Edhi Foundation Center in Lahore, Pakistan on July 26, 2023. (Photo courtesy: Edhi Foundation)
The rescued man, believed to be in his 50s, was facing communication challenges as he is deaf and unable to speak, officials said. He was provided medical care at a hospital in Kasur district after he was rescued on Tuesday, and then sent to a center run by the Edhi Foundation in Lahore, the country’s largest welfare organization.
“The unidentified man, who is believed to be an Indian citizen, has been moved to Edhi center in Lahore so he may be sent back to his country,” Sajid Ali, a spokesperson for police in Kasur district where the man was found, told Arab News.
Pictures of the alleged Indian national were also widely shared on social media.
Ali said the man had tried to explain through sign language that he was a follower of the Hindu faith, and police also found Hindi words tattooed on his right hand.
Salman Nazir, an Edhi Foundation spokesperson, confirmed that the man was at the Foundation’s center in Lahore.
“The man has been brought to Edhi center and we are taking care of him,” Nazir told Arab News over the phone from Lahore. “He cannot speak and possesses nothing which can identify him or the place in Indian from where he hails from.”
Nazir urged people from both countries to help identify the man so the government could initiate the process of his repatriation.
In 2015, Geeta, a young deaf and mute Indian woman, was reunited with her family in India twelve years after she strayed into Pakistan by mistake. Geeta remained under the care of Edhi Foundation during her stay in Pakistan.
