Published on, Aug. 21 -- August 21, 2025 7:38 AM

Every monsoon, the clouds darken over Pakistan's northern hills, and the rivers begin to swell. As dictated by logic, warnings are issued, red alerts flash across screens, advisories circulate through texts and recorded phone messages, and social media start forecasting upcoming destruction. Despite this, we embrace peril with open arms and witness a national romance with disaster. Most of us take the monsoon not as a season of risk but as a backdrop for Instagram reels and riverbank barbecues. Thousands march towards the mountains, dragging along children, women and elders, as if they are compelled by some unspoken thrill for fatalistic romance with nature's wrath.

Only during the curren...