'Take floodwaters home, store in tubs': Khawaja Asif’s 'bucket plan' for Pakistan's deluge

Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif - File Photo

As Pakistan battles one of the worst flood crises in recent memory, their defence minister Khawaja Asif has managed to float an idea that has left many shaking their heads. In a video that has gone viral, Asif can be heard urging people not to complain about floodwaters but to see them as a “blessing” that can be stored at home in tubs, buckets and containers.

“People who are protesting against the flood-like situation should take the flood waters home,” Asif declared during an interview with Dunya News. “They should store this water at their homes, in tubs, in lakes. We should look at these waters in the form of a blessing and hence should store it.”

The remarks, originally made during earlier flood seasons, have resurfaced at a time when Punjab province is reeling under catastrophic rains. At least 33 people have died, 2,200 villages have been hit and more than 700,000 residents displaced. For those fleeing their submerged homes in Bahawalnagar, Bahawalpur and other districts, the idea of stocking up floodwater in buckets may sound like satire rather than disaster management.

Relief teams are working around the clock, shifting thousands of livestock to safer locations, yet anger is mounting on the ground. Irfan Ali Kathia, Director General of the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) Punjab, confirmed that the province is facing one of the severest floods in its history, with rivers running perilously high. While water levels in the Sutlej near Kasur have started to ease, fresh inflows still threaten districts downstream.

Nationally, the numbers are staggering. Since late June, more than 850 people have lost their lives, over 1,100 have been injured and at least 9,000 houses damaged, according to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). More than 2,000 homes have been reduced to rubble, leaving tens of thousands in relief camps.

And yet, as more than 2.4 million people remain affected, Asif’s “bucket plan” has gone viral, drawing sharp criticism for being so wildly out of sync with reality.

Meanwhile, the flood threat is far from over. Rising waters from the Chenab are expected to hit Multan district soon, merging with inflows from the Ravi. The Panjnad River is forecast to peak around September 5 while the Sutlej continues to push water toward Suleimanki and Head Islam barrages.