Shangla District Families Mourn Orphaned Children After Mine Collapse

The 34 fatalities have devastated the Shangla district, one of Pakistan’s most impoverished regions. With limited industrial development and scarce agricultural yields, generations of families have turned to coal mining in Balochistan, Sindh and Punjab for survival. Approximately 65% of Shangla’s population now depends directly or indirectly on mining. The loss of multiple members from the same extended families has left several households without any male earners, creating a wave of orphaned children and widowed mothers who struggle to meet basic needs.