The death toll from monsoon flooding in Pakistan has reached 1,061 since June, the National Disaster Management Authority said on Monday, with 28 more people having died in the past 24 hours.
A huge relief operation was under way on Monday and international aid began trickling in.
The final toll could be higher as hundreds of villages in the mountainous north have been cut off by flood-swollen rivers washing away roads and bridges, AFP reported.
Authorities were still trying to reach cut-off villages in the mountainous north, even as the flooded southern Sindh province braced on Sunday for a fresh deluge from swollen rivers in the north.
The Indus River that courses through Pakistan's second-most populous region is fed by dozens of mountain tributaries to the north, but many have burst their banks following record rains and glacier melt.
Torrents of water are expected to reach Sindh in the next few days, adding misery to the millions already affected by the floods.
"Right now, Indus is in high flood," said Aziz Soomro, the supervisor of Sukkur Barrage, a massive colonial-era construction that regulates the river's flow and redirects water to a vast system of canals.
Pakistan needs financial help to deal with the floods, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari told Reuters on Sunday.
He hoped financial institutions such as the IMF would take the economic fallout into account.
"I haven't seen destruction of this scale, I find it very difficult to put into words ... it is overwhelming," Mr Bhutto-Zardari said. He added that many crops that provided much of the population's livelihoods had been wiped out.
"Obviously this will have an effect on the overall economic situation," Mr Bhutto-Zardari said.
The South Asian nation was already in an economic crisis, facing high inflation, a depreciating currency and a current account deficit.
The IMF board will decide this week on whether to release $1.2 billion as part of the seventh and eighth tranches of Pakistan's bailout programme, which it entered in 2019.
"Going forward, I would expect not only the IMF, but the international community and international agencies to truly grasp the level of devastation," Mr Bhutto-Zardari said.
The annual monsoon is essential for irrigating crops and replenishing lakes and dams across the Indian subcontinent, but it also brings destruction.
Officials say this year's monsoon flooding has affected more than 33 million people, one in seven Pakistanis, destroying or badly damaging nearly a million homes.
The NDMA said more than two million acres of cultivated crops had been wiped out, 3,457 kilometres of roads destroyed, and 157 bridges washed away.
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
Results:
First Test: New Zealand 30 British & Irish Lions 15
Second Test: New Zealand 21 British & Irish Lions 24
Third Test: New Zealand 15 British & Irish Lions 15
