Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday awarded cash prizes to three shepherds from Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) who saved around 300 people by warning of an impending glacial lake outburst in the Ghizer district.
Sharif presented cheques of Rs2.5 million each to Wasit Khan, Ansar and Muhammad Khan at the Prime Minister House in Islamabad, praising their courage and presence of mind.
“You are the heroes of Gilgit-Baltistan,” the prime minister told them. “Because of your timely action, the entire Pakistani nation, including myself, is proud of you.”
He added: “Your early warning allowed the area to be evacuated in time and saved hundreds of lives. This act of service to humanity will always be remembered in golden words.”
براہِ راست: گلگت بلتستان کےوصیت خان، انصاراورمحمد خان کی وزیراعظم محمد شہباز شریف سے ملاقات https://t.co/CbCIxx2GLT
— Government of Pakistan (@GovtofPakistan) August 25, 2025
The prime minister said the Ministry of Climate Change was working to strengthen early warning systems in G-B. “We are creating an integrated system so that timely alerts can help avert any emergency or disaster,” he said.
The three shepherds thanked the prime minister for the recognition. “With Allah’s blessing, we were able to save lives and we are thankful to Him for this success,” they said.
A local shepherd's timely warning proved a lifeline for the entire population of Roshan village in Ghizer district, sparing them from a devastating flash flood early Friday morning, as the state's vaunted flood alerts once more rang hollow, proving little more than dead weight.
The incident has reignited debate over the wisdom of indigenous knowledge in the unforgiving terrain of G-B, where nature often calls the shots.
Officials confirmed that Roshan, located some 200 kilometres from Gilgit, was completely submerged. Although no lives were lost, residents lost all their household belongings and livestock.
Read More: Shepherd's alert saves entire village in G-B
According to villagers and local authorities, tragedy was averted solely because of the shepherd's presence of mind. While tending to his cattle in the mountains, he noticed signs of an imminent flood.
Using his mobile phone, which happened to have a working SIM card, he immediately alerted the villagers. His timely call prompted a mass evacuation just moments before floodwaters surged through the settlement.
"He is our saviour. We were all asleep and would have met a tragic fate had he not informed us," said Shakir Hussain, a resident of Roshan village. "A simple shepherd did what millions of rupees worth of equipment could not. All that expensive machinery in the name of 'early warning' is useless."
Also Read: Death toll from K-P floods crosses 350
In recognition of his quick thinking, senior police officer Faisal Sultan awarded the shepherd Rs10,000, while the local community is mulling over honouring him with a medal.
The shepherd's vigilance has thrown into sharp relief the shortcomings of the government's Early Warning Devices (EWDs). Despite being installed at great expense across G-B to give timely alerts of floods and glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs), the systems failed to sound the alarm during the recent floods that claimed 40 lives and left many more injured in areas where the devices were operational.
The incident in Roshan mirrors another event in Gulmit, Gojal, where approximately 60 volunteers managed to escape a flash flood at the last moment after traditional observation methods gave them a critical heads-up.
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