Punjab prepares Rs500b flood package

The PML-N led Punjab government has prepared a Rs500 billion relief package for flood victims, sources said. The plan aims to compensate for losses and provide financial assistance to millions of people affected along the banks of three rivers during the recent rains and floods.

Payments will be made through the Punjab government's relief card. Families whose houses were completely destroyed will receive Rs1 million, while those whose homes were partially damaged will receive Rs 500,000.

According to sources, 63,200 brick houses and 309,684 mud houses were damaged in the floods. Compensation will also be given for the loss of cattle, including cows and buffaloes.

Farmers whose crops were destroyed will be compensated at the rate of Rs 20,000 per acre. The package also includes the rehabilitation of roads, bridges, and other infrastructure.

Massive floods have struck both the rural heartland and industrial centres for the first time in decades, causing billions of dollars in damage while straining food supplies, exports and a fragile economic recovery.

The government had been optimistic about 2026, pencilling in 4.2% growth on the back of a rebound in farming and manufacturing after the economy was stabilised under a $7 billion International Monetary Fund bailout.

Instead, record monsoon rains since late June, amplified by dam releases from India, have submerged large swathes of Punjab.

While waters have yet to recede in many districts, officials and analysts warn the hit could be deeper than in 2022, when a third of the country lay under water, due to dual shocks to agriculture and manufacturing.

In Punjab, Pakistan's rice, cotton and maize engine, 1.8 million acres of farmland have been inundated, according to the provincial disaster management agency. "About 50% of rice, and 60% of cotton and maize crops have been damaged," said Khalid Bath, chairman of the Pakistan Farmers Association.

He said losses could exceed 2.5 million acres, worth up to Rs1 trillion ($3.53 billion). "This is unlike anything we have seen in recent decades," said Iqrar Ahmad Khan, former vice chancellor of the University of Agriculture Faisalabad.

He estimates at least a tenth of the country's crops are destroyed, with vegetable losses topping 90% in some districts.

The timing is perilous: Pakistan is about to sow wheat, the crop that provides nearly half of the country's caloric intake.

National reserves remain comfortable after a strong 2024 harvest, according to Crop Monitor, but the sowing window is at risk in fields still slick with silt and mud. "Food insecurity is coming, not just higher prices," Khan warned.