Karachi, August 20, 2025: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Wednesday criticised Karachi residents for venturing outdoors despite the provincial government’s declaration of a public holiday following devastating rains that inundated the metropolis.
His remarks came as another spell of monsoon showers lashed Karachi, worsening urban flooding, triggering widespread power outages, and leaving at least 12 people dead in rain-related incidents within the past 24 hours.
During a visit to the Nursery nullah to inspect post-rain conditions, the chief minister, accompanied by Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab, reviewed drainage and water disposal efforts. Speaking to the media, he expressed frustration over citizens ignoring official advisories.
“The government had declared a public holiday so that people would stay home, yet roads are still jammed. Is this a public holiday?” he asked, pointing to heavy traffic on the streets.
Shah said municipal staff were working round the clock to drain rainwater, admitting there were shortcomings but stressing that “the government is on the ground and actively working.” He urged citizens to act responsibly during emergencies and criticised sections of the media for prioritising visuals of inundated roads instead of reinforcing government instructions.
Karachi recorded more than 200 millimetres of rainfall in just 12 hours, the chief minister said, adding that no urban drainage system could cope with such an intensity. “Roads cannot be designed to drain 100mm of rainwater per hour in a city where the annual average is only 2–3mm, and a heavy spell means 30mm,” he explained. He noted that 11 of the city’s 14 underpasses had been cleared, with work continuing on the remainder.
Linking the extreme downpour to climate change, Shah highlighted the broader devastation across Pakistan, recalling that more than 400 lives were lost in rain-induced disasters in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan last week.
Earlier, Mayor Wahab told Geo News that while most main roads had been cleared, drainage work was still under way in several low-lying areas. He acknowledged long-standing flaws in the city’s drainage system, stressing that expanding capacity required land acquisition — often resisted by residents.
Fresh warnings
The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has forecast continued monsoon activity across Sindh until August 22, with scattered heavy to very heavy showers expected in Karachi, Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas, Thatta, Badin, and other districts. The Met Office warned of further urban flooding in low-lying areas of the metropolis.
