Bizarre! Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif Calls Floodwater 'A Blessing', Faces Backlash

Adding to his string of bizarre statements, Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has described the excess water from devastating floods in the country as a "blessing."

Asif urged people to store the floodwater in tubs instead of protesting against authorities for the harm the floods have caused to civilian life.

Speaking to a TV channel about the floods, the Pakistani minister said, "This water must be stored. People were blocking roads by sitting there. They should take the water home and store it in containers. The water should be considered a blessing. It usually takes 8–10 years to store such a quantity of water by building dams."

Pakistan’s Punjab province has been hit by the worst flood in its recent history.

Asif's bizarre statement has confused people, who are questioning the logic behind his claims.

Netizens have brutally trolled the minister for being a public representative yet making laughable remarks to console people in distress instead of providing relief through practical government solutions.

Sharing the video on X, a user wrote, "Only in #Terroristan can a bunch of stand-up comedians rebrand floods as a 'Divine Gift.' Proof that a lack of education creates disasters bigger than the water itself."

Another user wrote, "According to Pakistan's Defense Minister, people drowning in floods shouldn't protest; they should be grateful to Allah, take it as a blessing, and store the floodwater in tubs and buckets at home."

Speaking in the National Assembly on Monday, Asif blamed encroachment on riverbeds and poor urban planning for the destruction caused by the floods.

He urged that priority be given to building small dams over delayed mega projects and called the rain a blessing mismanaged by unplanned construction.

This comes after Pakistan claimed that the floods were caused by India opening its dams in Kashmir. As this attempt to mislead people by blaming India was debunked by experts, Pakistani leaders quickly came up with another illogical claim to counter it. Pakistan's leaders seem committed to confusing people with bizarre theories and irrational thinking from time to time and no amount of embarrassment is going to stop them from exposing their real character. Defence Minister Khawaja Asif's statements have often made headlines for being ridiculous, and many social media users have remarked that the country does not need an enemy as long as it has Asif as a minister.

Torrential rains and surging floods have inundated vast areas of farmland and destroyed ready-to-harvest crops across Pakistan, raising concerns about a food crisis and rising inflation, according to Dawn. The UN and local farmers issued warnings on Monday about the scale of the damage.

The devastating floods, which hit northeastern Punjab, Pakistan's largest province and primary food basket last week, have submerged hundreds of villages, schools, and health centers. Livestock have been washed away, crops destroyed, and around 50 people have lost their lives, triggering widespread evacuations, Dawn reported.

Official figures indicate that more than 2 million people have been affected, with over 700,000 evacuated so far. Floodwaters are now moving south toward the Indus River, threatening further destruction in Sindh in the coming days.

"This isn't normal—yet it's becoming the new normal. Monsoons, driven by climate change, now bring fear and devastation to communities across Pakistan," Mo Yahya, the UN resident and humanitarian coordinator, said in a post on X after visiting the affected areas.

"Flooded rice fields stretch as far as the eye can see. Farmers now face months without crops or income until the next planting season," he added, posting a video from Hafizabad district.

He warned, "This is only the beginning—more intense rains are expected in the coming weeks. As the water flows further south, it will threaten more families with displacement and destruction. This is not just another natural disaster; this is climate change," Dawn reported.

Echoing the warning, Waqar Ahmad, Secretary General of the Kisan Board of Pakistan, said the catastrophic floods have destroyed three main crops—rice, sugarcane, and sesame—across Punjab.

"The rice crop has been particularly hard-hit, as the floods have struck major rice-producing districts," Ahmad told Anadolu.He added that 70 percent of the standing rice crop has been destroyed by the latest floods, Dawn reported.

Waheed Ahmad, head of the Pakistan Fruit and Vegetable Exports Association, further cautioned that the floods are likely to trigger food inflation, as large quantities of crops and vegetables across Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have been destroyed.

He urged the government to lift the levy on vegetable and fruit imports from Afghanistan and Iran to address potential shortages, as reported by Dawn.

Also Read: PIB Fact Checks False Claim Attributed To Donald Trump About Floods in Pakistan Due To India Opening Its Dams in Kashmir