Pakistan minister’s bizarre flood fix: 'Store water in tubs'

More than 1.5 million people have been affected by the flooding in Pakistan. (AFP photo)

Pakistan defence minister Khawaja Asif has odd solution for the mayhem of monsoon floods. In an interview to a news channel, Asif said that the rains should be turned blessing. Offering a bizarre flood fix, Asif said that the water should be stored in tubs till big dams can be constructed in Pakistan for similar purpose. The tone-deaf solution for the people of Sindh and Punjab has angered many. Over half a million people have been evacuated both in Punjab and Sindh due to heavy rains. Moneycontrol could not independently verify the authenticity of the video.

Kumail Soomro, a Karachi-based journalist, slammed Asif for the insensitive remarks. "Sindhis were blocking roads for the river. They should consider these floods as a blessing and keep the water in their homes," Asif had said. Soomro said that this was against the people of Sindh.

Meanwhile, there are reports that many Pakistani lawmakers have been demanding construction of big dams to tackle floods.

According to Pakistani daily The News, PTI lawmaker Ali Muhammad Khan emphasized the need for a national policy on water reservoirs. Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, meanwhile, pushed for the construction of both large and small dams, urging that the matter be treated beyond partisan politics. He also reminded that the country’s two major dams were built under a dictator’s rule, as that regime was able to forge consensus—something politicians, he said, have squandered through endless point-scoring, the report noted.

Three transboundary rivers that cut through Punjab province, which borders India, have swollen to exceptionally high levels, affecting more than 2,300 villages. Nabeel Javed, the head of the Punjab government's relief services, said 481,000 people stranded by the floods have been evacuated, along with 405,000 livestock, an AFP report said.

Overall, more than 1.5 million people have been affected by the flooding. A Tuesday report by The Dawn said that 41 people have lost their lives due to the deluge.