Evacuations under way in eastern Pakistan as India releases water from swollen rivers

Pakistan has evacuated tens of thousands of people to safer areas after neighbouring India released water from overflowing dams and swollen rivers into low-lying border regions, officials said on Tuesday.

The move came a day after New Delhi alerted Islamabad about possible cross-border flooding, marking the first public diplomatic contact between the two nuclear-armed rivals in months.

Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said it had issued an advance alert to its Punjabi counterparts about a surge in the Sutlej River and the risk of flooding and that evacuations from various districts in the eastern Punjab province were underway.

In a statement, it said rescuers evacuated more than 14,000 people from Kasur, a district in Punjab province, while over 89,000 were moved to safer ground from the city of Bahawalnagar, near the Indian border.

The NDMA said authorities have urged residents to stay away from rivers, streams and low-lying areas, avoid unnecessary travel and follow alerts issued through the media, mobile phones and the NDMA's disaster alert app.

The latest flood alert and evacuation drive by Pakistan comes as heavy monsoon rains continue to batter both South Asian countries.

In Pakistan’s northwest, many residents complained this month that they had received no warning before flash floods struck the district of Buner, killing more than 300 people.

Officials have said the devastation was caused by a sudden cloudburst, which could not have been predicted, and that many of the victims were living along natural water pathways.

Nationwide, floods triggered by seasonal rains have killed more than 800 people in Pakistan since 26 June.

In Kashmir, which is split between India and Pakistan and claimed by both in its entirety, at least 65 have also died and hundreds have been displaced in the Indian-administered Jammu area.

Many of the region's rivers and tributaries eventually flow into Pakistan and the part of Kashmir it controls.

On Tuesday, Indian officials said most rivers and streams were overflowing, with muddy waters inundating homes in several places and damaging roads and bridges. Water levels in multiple rivers continued to rise in the region.

According to the Indian Meteorological Department, rains should persist until late Tuesday.

In recent months, Pakistan has witnessed multiple cloudburst floods and higher than normal rainfall. Pakistan’s annual monsoon season runs from July to September.

Scientists and weather forecasters have blamed climate change for heavier rains in recent years in the region.

This year's heavy rains have raised fears of a repeat of the 2022 downpour that inundated a third of the country and killed 1,739 people.