Karak’s Silent Crisis: How Oil and Gas Operations Are Poisoning Water, Air and Lives

• By: Prof Dr Sahar Noor Khattak, Khanzada Javid Khattak and Prof Naseer Khattak

In the arid southern belt of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where communities already struggle with poverty and scarce public services, a far deeper crisis is rapidly unfolding one that threatens the region’s water, air, soil, wildlife, agriculture, and ultimately, human survival.

District Karak, home to the Nashpa Block oil and gas fields operated by various oil and gas companies, has become the epicenter of one of Pakistan’s most alarming environmental disasters. Home to more than 20 productive wells within a five-kilometer radius, the region has seen unprecedented extraction of groundwater and unchecked disposal of hazardous waste. For the people of Chakhtoo Jatta Ismaeel Khail Union Council, Nashpa Jandri Union Council, in Nashpa Block. Makori Union Council, Teri Union Council, Gurguri Union Council, Lachi and surrounding areas fall in Tal Block, the discovery of oil and gas has brought devastation rather than prosperity.

• Unrestrained Groundwater Extraction

According to multiple records and local testimonies, each oil or gas well drilled in the Nashpa Block requires millions of liters of water. With at least 22 wells drilled so far, the total water used is in billions of liters -an unimaginable burden on a region dependent solely on groundwater.
Villagers report that the tube wells they relied upon for decades have now completely dried up. Women and children walk miles daily just to find drinkable water. Fields lie barren, and the water table continues to plummet beyond recoverable levels.
Supreme Court rulings, including the landmark decisions against Nestlé mineral water companies and the Katas Raj case, clearly (Chakwal Cement Factory) prohibit commercial use of groundwater without alternative sources. Yet, despite the law, oil companies in Karak & Kohat division continue extracting groundwater unchecked.

• Toxic Waste Flowing Toward the Indus

Equally disturbing is the disposal of chemically contaminated drilling water. Instead of treating this hazardous waste as required under environmental laws companies allegedly release it directly into natural streams that flow toward D.I. Khan, Punjab, and Sindh, through Indus River eventually merging into the Ocean/Arabian Sea.
This toxic water, laden with chemicals used in deep drilling, threatens not only the livelihoods of farmers but also the survival of the Indus Blind Dolphin and aquatic ecosystems downstream. Local farmers in D.I. Khan, Punjab and Sindh report crop destruction, livestock deaths, and soil degradation in areas irrigated by affected canals.
The environmental chain reaction now extends hundreds of kilometers beyond Karak.

• Air Filled with Poison: Flaring and Acid Rain

Across the Nashpa region, residents live under an orange glow that lights up the night sky low-flare gas burning, carried out day and night. Without proper emission control systems, the burning of associated gases releases methane, carbon monoxide, and other dangerous pollutants into the air.

The consequences are now visible across Karak, Bannu, and Kohat:

• An alarming rise in skin infections and respiratory illnesses
• Damage to crops caused by acid rain
• Rising local temperatures linked to greenhouse gas emissions
• Disturbed sleep cycles due to constant flaring lights

The region’s air quality continues to worsen, with no mitigation steps taken by the companies or regulatory bodies.

• Hazardous Waste Transported Illegally

In one of the most troubling incidents, one of the companies transported over million kilograms of hazardous Toxic material (OBM cuttings) from Sindh’s Qadirpur field to the Nashpa Block- a clear violation of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Environmental Protection Act 2014 Article: 14, which forbids the import or transportation of hazardous waste into provincial territory.

• Chakhtoo Game Reserve: A Biodiversity Tragedy

Once a thriving wildlife reserve that generated revenue through regulated hunting permits, the Chakhtoo Game Reserve has now been pushed to the brink of ecological collapse. Pollution, constant noise, flaring gas, and habitat destruction have caused the disappearance of wildlife species that once flourished in the reserve.

The local community, which relied on income from the reserve and took pride in its ecological heritage, has been left with nothing but polluted land and dried-up water bodies.

• Health Emergency in the Making

Doctors and clinic workers in the region report a sharp rise in:

• Skin diseases
• Asthma and respiratory infections
• Gastrointestinal problems
• Organ damage caused by contaminated water

Livestock and wildlife mortality has also surged, threatening food security and economic stability for already impoverished communities.

Experts warn that if extraction and waste disposal continue at this rate, Karak could soon face an irreversible public health and ecological catastrophe.

• State Institutions Missing in Action

Despite repeated complaints, neither the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA KP) nor the provincial high-up & DGPC has conducted meaningful inspections or enforced environmental standards. One of the Companies reportedly operated an unapproved bioremediation plant for years, without submitting the mandatory Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).

Communities say the absence of state oversight has emboldened companies to ignore laws, devastate natural resources, and leave behind toxic scars that future generations will struggle to survive.

• A Call for Accountability

Residents and environmental advocates are now demanding:

• Immediate suspension of operations until environmental compliance is ensured
• Independent scientific investigation of environmental damage
• Installation of wastewater treatment plants
• Alternatives to groundwater extraction
• Compensation for communities affected by pollution and water depletion
• Restoration of the Chakhtoo Wildlife Game Reserve of Wild life Kohat Division

Without swift intervention, the disaster unfolding in Karak may soon spread to other regions connected through groundwater flows, streams, and the Indus River basin.

• The Real Cost of Oil

The discovery of oil and gas in Karak was expected to uplift communities. Instead, it has stripped them of their most fundamental rights: clean water, clean air, fertile soil, and a healthy environment.

As Pakistan struggles with climate change, water scarcity, and environmental degradation, the tragedy in Karak serves as a stark warning. When economic interests overshadow environmental laws and human rights, the cost is borne not by corporations but by ordinary citizens whose land and future are sacrificed.