By Mohiuddin Aazim
In the middle of navigating economic disturbance, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s recent visit to Islamabad was more than a routine diplomatic engagement for Pakistan, as it presented an opportunity to secure stronger Chinese financial and strategic support. Yet, even as the country seeks external backing, recent events at home — unprecedented rains and flash floods — have exposed deep-seated governance gaps, showing that economic and geopolitical gains may be undermined by internal administrative failures.
The country’s handling of these floods in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Karachi this month has highlighted that it is governance issues that impose heavier costs on lives, property, and infrastructure than most external shocks. Karachi’s urban flooding was not simply a drainage problem; it revealed systemic flaws: poor planning, political exclusion, entrenched corruption, and an absence of effective administration. Citizens were left stranded as services collapsed, underscoring how repeated neglect in disas