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KARACHI: Authorities in Pakistan’s Punjab province on Friday declared the 2025 monsoon season officially over, saying floodwaters that had surged through major rivers in late August were now receding, after one of the deadliest and most destructive monsoons in the country’s history.

The disaster has left at least 1,006 people dead nationwide since the monsoon season began on June 26, including 123 deaths in Punjab since Aug. 26, the worst spell of the season, according to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA). In total, nearly 300 people have been killed in Punjab since the start of the monsoons.

More than 44.7 million people in Punjab alone have been affected by the rains and deluges, while crops on 2.48 million acres of farmland and nearly 1,800 livestock are lost. 

The scale of destruction has reinforced fears of long-term food insecurity in Pakistan’s breadbasket province.

“Today, I inform you from PDMA Punjab that our monsoon practically is almost over now and now no strong or even weak system is forecasted for the next week,” DG PDMA Punjab Irfan Ali Kathia told reporters on Friday. 

He said major rivers including the Chenab, Ravi and Sutlej had returned to normal or below-normal levels.

Kathia said around 106,000 people were still living in relief camps across southern Punjab districts such as Multan, Jalalpur Pirwala and Muzaffargarh. 

At the height of the crisis, some 500 relief camps had been established, supported by 425 mobile and fixed medical units.

On crops, Kathia reported the biggest losses were to rice (44 percent of inundated area), followed by corn (16 percent), sugarcane (13 percent), and cotton (5 percent). 

“Approximately 2,482,617 acres of crops have been inundated in Punjab,” he said, adding that a digital survey starting Sept. 24 would assess crop, livestock, structural and human losses for compensation.

The floods had also killed 1,779 animals, with 824 more missing. Kathia said the government had already transported more than 2 million animals to safety.

He credited rescue agencies for saving 2.4 million people during the peak flood, with 37,000 boat trips conducted by Punjab’s Rescue 1122 and the Pakistan Army.

The PDMA chief said the M5 Motorway, linking the city of Multan with other parts of Punjab, had been badly affected by floodwaters in a 22-kilometer stretch between Jalalpur Pirwala and Jhangra, where 73 culverts came under stress, of which five were damaged. 

“The water is receding gradually,” he said, noting repairs were underway with support from the National Highway Authority and federal agencies.

Pakistan, which contributes only one percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, is among the countries most severely affected by climate change.

Catastrophic floods in 2022 killed 1,700 people, affected 33 million and caused over $30 billion in economic damage.

ISLAMABAD: Egypt has congratulated Pakistan and �������� on the signing of a ‘Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement’ and described it as an “important milestone,” the Pakistani foreign office said on Friday.

Pakistan and �������� signed the pact on Wednesday, pledging that aggression against one country would be treated as an attack on both, a move that will enhance joint deterrence and strengthen decades of military and security cooperation.

The defense agreement comes at a time of extreme volatility in the Middle East, where prolonged conflicts have heightened fears of wider instability, reinforcing the urgency Gulf states place on stronger security and defense partnerships.

In his telephonic conversation with his Pakistani counterpart Ishaq Dar, Egypt’s Foreign Minister Dr. Badr Abdelatty said the defense agreement will strengthen longstanding partnership, trust and cooperation between Pakistan and ��������.

“The two leaders also exchanged views on regional & international developments, underscoring the importance of peace, stability & economic progress,” the Pakistani foreign office said. “They reaffirmed their commitment to multilateral cooperation and look forward to substantive interactions at the United Nations General Assembly next week.”

The agreement also materializes as Pakistan looks to escape a prolonged macroeconomic crisis that forced it to secure loan packages from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). �������� has bailed Pakistan out of financial troubles over the years, extending loans to the South Asian country and providing it oil against deferred payments.

Defense and economic experts have said that the pact can help Islamabad stabilize its economy via increased jobs, sharing of technology and exports to the Kingdom.

“Yes, both Muslim brotherly countries are leveraging their respective strengths in this historic pact: Pakistan’s military capability and ��������’s economic strength,” Mushahid Hussain Syed, former chairperson of the Senate Standing Committee on Defense, told Arab News on Thursday.

Khaqan Najeeb, former finance adviser to Pakistan’s finance ministry, said the pact had formalized decades of ties and opened space for deeper trade and investment between Pakistan and ��������.

“For ��������, Pakistan offers fertile land, skilled labor and potential food security links,” Najeeb said. “For Pakistan, Riyadh is its top remittance source and a critical investor.”

He said the defense agreement is in line with ��������’s Vision 2030 program and gives Pakistan a chance to stabilize its economy “through jobs, capital, and technology.”