ALMOST every year, we watch heartbreaking scenes of floods destroying villages, crops, homes, lives and livelihoods.

Roads vanish, families are displaced, and children are lefthungry and harassed.

Yet, every year, the government treats these disasters as something unexpected instead of preparing for them proactively.

The real tragedy is not the rain, but our failure to plan.

For decades, governments in Pakistan have made big promises, but taken no real steps regarding long-term solutions.

No new dams or proper water reservoirs have been built, drainage systems have remained outdated and non-functional, and relief work starts only after lives have been lost.

Climate change and global warming are adding to our woes, but our environmental policies remain weak and poorly implemented. State institutions and political leaders have all along remained focused on power struggles when they should have been the ones protecting people. Mismanagement, corruption and short-term politics are, and have always been, at the heart of the crisis. While the poor lose everything every monsoon, those in power continue with speeches and blame-games.

Pakistan needs serious investments in climate resilience, flood management, and sustainable infrastructure. Until then, every monsoon will bring the same destruction, if not more, and the same tears.

It is time the people demanded action, not sympathy. After all, while floods are natural, official negligence is man-made.

Wasif Khalig Dad Rawalpindi