Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal on Friday announced this year’s devastating floods had caused estimated losses of $2.9 billion (Rs. 822 billion) in Pakistan, with the agriculture sector alone suffering losses of around Rs. 430 billion.
Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, he said damage to infrastructure had reached Rs. 307 billion, including 2,811km of roads and 250 hospitals. He said the floods had completely destroyed 30-34 million bales of cotton, 10 million tons of rice, 13 million tons of sugarcane, and 1.3-3.3 million tons of wheat crops.
On housing, the minister said over 213,000 homes were destroyed in Punjab; 3,667 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan; 3,332 in Sindh; and 3,222 in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
Despite the significant losses, Iqbal noted that the country’s economic indicators remained largely positive. He noted price stability during the first quarter of the ongoing fiscal compared to the corresponding period last year, adding tax collection had increased by 12.5%.
The minister also hailed Pakistan’s role in international diplomacy, noting Islamabad had played a key role in achieving the ceasefire in Gaza. He vowed that the government was implementing immediate relief and rehabilitation plans to assist affected communities and rebuild critical infrastructure.