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ISLAMABAD: The government in Pakistan’s Punjab province has promised the “biggest” rehabilitation package of its history for more than 2.6 million people, who have been uprooted by one of the deadliest floods in the province.

Monsoon rains and India’s release of excess water flooded three transboundary rivers, Chenab, Ravi and Sutlej, in Pakistan’s breadbasket Punjab province in late August, submerging more than 4,700 villages and affecting over 4.7 million people, according to Punjab Relief Commissioner Nabeel Javed.

The deluges killed more than 300 people and forced authorities to relocate more than 2.6 million people to safety after their homes were washed away by water torrents. Rescuers also transported over 2 million livestock stranded in 28 districts to relief camps established by the government.

Provincial officials have said that floodwaters that surged through major rivers in late August and submerged crops over more than 2.5 million acres of land were now receding, announcing that they have initiated the process of rehabilitation of the affected areas. 

“Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz is bringing the biggest rehabilitation package in the history of Punjab,” Muhammad Jawad Haider, additional director-general of the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), said in a statement.

“Relief will be ensured by estimating the losses of the citizens.”

Haider’s statement came a day after Nawaz said people, whose houses have collapsed, will get Rs1 million [$3,503], while the ones, whose homes have been partially damaged, will receive Rs500,000 [$1,751].

“Those whose animal has been swept away, around 900 animals have been swept away, for them we are giving Rs500,000 [$1,751] for a big animal and Rs50,000 [$175] for a goat or sheep,” she said in televised comments.

“God willing, within two weeks this rehabilitation package [will be implemented and] people will start receiving checks and [compensation] money.”

Rains, floods and landslides have killed at least 1,006 people nationwide since late June, when the monsoon season began, according to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).

While Punjab authorities have declared the 2025 monsoon season is over, receding floodwaters continue to move southwards to merge in the Indus river in Sindh.

The Flood Forecasting Division of the Pakistan Meteorological Department warned on Saturday that the Indus river at Kotri is likely to remain in medium flood until the end of this month.

“It is requested that all concerned Deputy Commissioners/Chairman DDMAs and other relevant authorities/stakeholders may take all necessary mitigation measures,” it said.

Monsoon season brings Pakistan up to 80 percent of its annual rainfall, but increasingly erratic and extreme weather patterns are turning the annual rains, which are vital for agriculture, food security and the livelihoods of millions of farmers, into a destructive force.

The disaster has revived memories of the 2022 deluges, when a third of the country was submerged, over 1,700 people were killed and losses exceeded $35 billion.

ISLAMABAD: A man accused of shooting dead a 17-year-old TikTok star at her home in Pakistan after she had repeatedly rejected his advances was formally indicted Saturday, an AFP reporter in court saw.

Sana Yousaf’s murder in June drew nationwide condemnation and reignited debate over women’s safety, after some online comments — alongside condolences — blamed her for her own death.

The 22-year-old accused, Umar Hayat, pleaded not guilty in Islamabad’s district court Saturday.

“All the allegations made against me are baseless and false,” the accused told Judge Muhammad Afzal Majoka.

Yousaf had racked up more than a million followers on social media accounts, including TikTok, where she shared videos of her favorite cafes, skincare products, and traditional outfits.

TikTok is wildly popular in Pakistan, in part because of its accessibility to a population with low literacy levels.

Women have found both an audience and income on the app, which is rare in a country where fewer than a quarter of women participate in the formal economy.

Police described the killing as a “gruesome and cold-blooded murder,” alleging Hayat killed Yousaf after she repeatedly rejected his proposals.

Some comments in social media posts sharing the news of Yousaf’s murder suggested it was justified in a society where honor codes dictate how women should behave.

“You reap what you sow,” said one comment.

Violence against women is pervasive in Pakistan, according to the country’s Human Rights Commission, and cases of women being attacked after rejecting marriage proposals are not uncommon.

In 2021, 27-year-old Noor Mukadam was beheaded by a Pakistani-American man, Zahir Jaffer, after she rejected his marriage proposal in a case that sparked widespread anger.