It always begins the same way. A dark sky. A quiet unease. And then, suddenly, too much rain. But this time, in eastern Punjab, the water did not stop. Not for homes. Not for lives. Not even for memory.

Villages near the Sutlej were swallowed whole. Entire families were forced to climb trees, wait on rooftops, or cling to anything that floated. Crops were gone. Livestock swept away. There were mothers carrying their children through water up to their waists, not even knowing where the road had disappeared.

Over 1,200 people have lost their lives to flooding across Pakistan since June. Nearly half of them in August alone. These are not just statistics. They are stories cut short. The girl who never returned from school. The farmer who stayed behind to guard his cattle. The grandmother who waited too long for someone to come.

The truth is........

© The Express Tribune