Islamabad, September 16(Nosheen): A meeting of the Prime Minister’s Committee was held in Islamabad today under the chairmanship of Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, Professor Ahsan Iqbal, to review the damage assessment of the 2025 floods. The meeting was attended by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, Chairman NDMA, Secretary of the Ministry of Climate Change, and Chief Secretaries of the provincial governments. It was agreed that a final assessment of flood damages would only be possible once the water recedes. Professor Ahsan Iqbal said that a preliminary assessment would be completed within ten days in close coordination with the provincial governments. He urged the media to refrain from speculation regarding flood damages, assuring that accurate and transparent data would soon be made available. He further noted that rehabilitation efforts were already underway, with federal and provincial institutions jointly conducting relief operations.
The Minister announced that, as in 2022, a comprehensive Post-Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) would be carried out with the participation of international organizations to assess damages and requirements. He assured that all relief measures in the affected areas would be based on accurate and transparent data. Highlighting the broader challenge, Professor Ahsan Iqbal said that climate change was a major threat to Pakistan, manifesting in frequent floods and droughts. He regretted that India had resorted to politics even in the face of a natural disaster. He emphasized that Pakistan’s rapidly melting glaciers due to climate change had heightened the risks of floods, adding that the government was preparing a comprehensive national plan to address the challenge of climate change.