Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has directed authorities to immediately begin preparations to prevent any potential human and financial losses during the next monsoon season.
He emphasized that the Ministry of Climate Change, the Ministry of Planning, and the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) must work closely with provincial governments to develop an integrated and comprehensive climate resilience strategy.
According to the state-run news agency APP, the Prime Minister’s Office Media Wing reported that a review meeting was held on Wednesday under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to assess government measures aimed at mitigating the adverse effects of climate change. The meeting was attended by relevant federal ministers and senior officials.
During the meeting, the prime minister instructed all departments to begin preparations without delay, ensuring swift coordination among federal and provincial bodies. He also directed authorities to initiate arrangements for convening a meeting of the National Water Council to formulate a national-level strategy for efficient water management. He ordered the immediate implementation of the short-term plan presented during the briefing.
The Prime Minister noted that Pakistan, being a developing country, suffers significant GDP losses every three years due to the harmful impacts of climate change, diverting scarce resources away from development projects toward climate damage response. He reiterated that Pakistan’s contribution to global climate change is negligible, yet it remains one of the most affected countries.
Federal ministers Ahsan Iqbal, Ahad Khan Cheema, Muhammad Aurangzeb, Dr. Musadik Malik, and Attaullah Tarar, along with senior officials, attended the briefing. The meeting was informed about global monsoon indicators for the coming year, while the Ministry of Climate Change presented short-, medium-, and long-term strategies. The prime minister approved the short-term plan and ordered its immediate execution.
