A superior doctor prevents sickness; a mediocre doctor attends to impending sickness; an inferior doctor treats sickness. 

–Chinese proverb.

Now swap “doctor” with “state” and “sickness” with “flood.” Where does Pakistan fit in? It is reported that so far nearly 1,000 people have died, and about three million have been affected or displaced, and it is not over yet as of today. After devastating Punjab, the waters are now entering Sindh. The reality has hit hard. We act as the inferior doctor, scrambling with sandbags once embankments fail, handing out ration packages and tents when farmland is inundated and entire villages vanish underwater, and we probe the causes only after the floods retreat.

A sentiment echoing across social media strikes at the core: it basically says, “What we label as a natural calamity or divine act, developed nations see as a failure in management.” For years, we have pinned floods on fate, yet the true offender is our incompetence.

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This was diagnosed after the 2010 floods, when floodwaters submerged one-fifth of the nation and uprooted nearly 20 million residents. Punjab responded by forming a Judicial Flood Inquiry Tribunal, headed by Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah. His report, called A Rude Awakening, pulled no punches, accusing the state of “criminal negligence” through officials who proved untrained and unprepared. It recommended zoning floodplains, regular upkeep of barrages, and evaluating flood management structures prior to the start of the kharif season. The tribunal pushed for planned breaches in dire cases and swift evacuations to avert disaster. This laid out a roadmap for prevention. But the advice went unheeded. It was reported that those deemed at fault were later promoted rather than reprimanded. Floodplain rules stayed on paper for fear of losing the political........

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