President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum & All Karachi Industrial Alliance, Chairman National Business Group Pakistan, Chairman FPCCI Policy Advisory Board and Former Provincial Minister Mian Zahid Hussain has said that recurrent urban flooding has now become a serious economic emergency and should no longer be treated as a routine seasonal problem. He expressed profound grief over the loss of precious lives during the recent monsoon rains and said that floods caused by intense rainfall and climate change bring urban life to a standstill. Commercial and industrial production is disrupted in both large and small cities, markets are forced to close, transport and electricity systems are affected, and the movement of goods to ports and domestic markets is suspended.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that past disasters clearly demonstrate the economic severity of this threat. Urban flooding in Karachi during 2025 caused estimated losses of Rs14 to Rs15 billion to the business community within only two days, while more than 1,000 shops and warehouses were affected. Similarly, the closure of commercial activities during the 2020 floods caused estimated losses of Rs10 to Rs12 billion in Karachi alone. He said that the devastating nationwide floods of 2022 clearly demonstrated how agricultural destruction can rapidly turn into an industrial crisis. According to the official Post-Disaster Needs Assessment, 1,739 precious lives were lost, while agriculture, food, livestock and fisheries suffered approximately Rs800 billion in direct damage and Rs1.986 trillion in economic losses. Crops accounted for 82 percent of the combined damage and losses suffered by these sectors, amounting to approximately Rs2.285 trillion. Around 4.4 million acres of agricultural land were affected, nearly 800,000 livestock perished, and cotton, dates, sugarcane and rice crops suffered extensive destruction.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that the destruction of cotton during the 2022 floods was particularly alarming because locally produced cotton meets approximately half of the textile industry’s requirements. The textile sector accounts for almost one-fourth of industrial production and more than half of Pakistan’s merchandise exports. He said that floodwater entering agricultural fields does not only harm farmers. It shuts down ginning factories, deprives spinning mills of cotton, reduces sugar-mill crushing, damages rice exports, destroys poultry, dairy, livestock, and increases the prices of animal feed.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that shortages of locally produced cotton increase imports and raise the cost of textile production. Damage to sugarcane affects the production of sugar, ethanol, molasses and bagasse-based electricity. Destruction of rice crops causes losses to rice mills, exporters, packaging companies and transporters, while shortages of maize and fodder increase the prices of milk, meat, eggs and poultry products. He urged the government to establish a transparent Monsoon Economic Damage Dashboard, containing details of affected agricultural land, crop losses, closed industrial units, damaged warehouses, production stoppages, delays in export consignments, road closures and electricity disruptions.
Mian Zahid Hussain also demanded independent audits of inactive drainage systems in major cities, effective cleaning and de-silting of drains, removal of encroachments, enhancement of pumping capacity and strict action against construction on natural waterways. He said that proper flood-response and business-continuity plans should be prepared for industrial estates, export zones and wholesale markets. Banks should provide emergency working capital to flood-affected small and medium-sized enterprises, while the coverage of crop, livestock and business insurance should also be expanded.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that defects in protective infrastructure, negligence and delays repeatedly transfer the cost of disasters to the public, taxpayers, consumers, exporters and small businesses. He added that Pakistan must replace its excessive reliance on post-disaster relief programmes with a comprehensive policy of prevention and preparedness to protect human lives, food security, industrial raw materials, exports and economic stability, and to ensure continuity in economic and social activities.
