Still, many of these disasters could have been mitigated, or even largely avoided, if we had a comprehensive national water security policy. Experts have long warned that Pakistan must move beyond short-term emergency responses and adopt a comprehensive water strategy to address growing flood risks and the worsening water crisis. Given that Pakistan is a highly water-stressed nation, water must be treated as an all-year concern, rather than a seasonal issue. Despite improvements in some areas of water management, much work is needed to meet the goals of the National Water Policy of 2018, with the Asian Water Development Outlook 2025 warning that improvement has not kept pace with risk, and implementation remains inconsistent. But aside from full implementation of the 2018 policy and the 1991 Water Apportionment Accord for the provinces, we need investment in water storage and flood management infrastructure, stronger hydrological cooperation with our neighbours, climate-smart agriculture, and digital overhauls of water accounting and groundwater regulation.