Islamabad, August 18, 2025: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday pledged the federal government’s full support for flood-affected communities, announcing that members of the federal cabinet will donate one month’s salary to aid relief and rehabilitation efforts.
Chairing a high-level meeting in Islamabad, the premier directed federal institutions to scale up operations in flood-hit districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK). “In this hour of calamity, there is no federal or provincial government; helping our distressed Pakistani brothers and sisters is our national responsibility,” he said, stressing that politics must give way to service.
Shehbaz ordered that financial assistance be provided to families of the deceased and injured under the Prime Minister’s relief package. Federal ministers were instructed to personally monitor the restoration of electricity, water supply, roads, and essential services, while the Minister for Kashmir Affairs and GB will oversee overall relief operations.
He further directed:
- The National Highway Authority (NHA), Ministry of Communications, and FWO to prioritize reopening of provincial and national highways.
- The Minister for Power to inspect affected areas and ensure quick restoration of electricity.
- The NDMA to present a comprehensive damage assessment and enhance the supply of relief items.
- The Ministry of Health to dispatch medicines, medical teams, and establish field camps.
- The Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) to mobilize resources for immediate assistance.
Officials briefed the meeting that 456 relief camps had been established and 400 rescue operations conducted with the support of provincial governments, the Pakistan Army, and federal institutions. Relief convoys carrying food, tents, and medicines are being dispatched to the hardest-hit regions.
Preliminary estimates put damages to public and private property at over Rs126 million, while the NDMA cautioned that monsoon rains are expected to continue until late September, with two more major spells still likely.
The meeting, attended by senior ministers and NDMA Chairman Lt Gen Inam Haider Malik, concluded with prayers for those who lost their lives and for the speedy recovery of the injured.
