India has warned Pakistan about possible cross-border flooding for the second time in as many weeks, as monsoon deluges cause death and widespread destruction in both countries.
The disaster management authority in Pakistan announced the warning on Tuesday.
Punjab’s Disaster Management Authority said the Indian High Commission conveyed the warning to Pakistan through the Ministry of Water Resources.
New Delhi shared the warning with Pakistan on "humanitarian grounds” through New Delhi’s high commission in Islamabad rather than the water-sharing Indus Water Treaty (IWT), which remains suspended, an Indian government official said.
Pakistan conducted mass evacuations late last month after India released water from overflowing dams and swollen rivers into low-lying border regions.
The countries came close to war in May, and tensions frequently escalate between the two nuclear-armed rivals, making diplomatic contact uncommon.
The latest warning concerns a surge in the Sutlej River, with floodwaters expected to enter Pakistan on Wednesday.
Pakistan
Raging torrents have already devastated border communities in Kasur, Okara, Vehari and Bahawalnagar.
Officials in Pakistan’s Punjab province said Tuesday that more than 1 million people have been evacuated and 2.45 million people have been affected by monsoon flooding in recent months.
Another 18 people were killed due to ongoing rains and floods across Pakistan over the last 24 hours as authorities are taking several measures to save cities from raging floods in northeastern Punjab province, the National Disaster Management Authority said.
Of the latest casualties, seven each were reported from Punjab and the Pakistan-administered Kashmir, while four people were killed in different parts of northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, bringing the death toll to 87 since August 25.
India
Downpours lashed several parts of northern India and killed at least 10 people over the past 24 hours.
Authorities were forced to close some schools and offices on Tuesday.
Landslides, flooding and gushing rivers in India’s Punjab state, home to more than 30 million people, killed at least 29 people last month.
In New Delhi, water levels of the Yamuna River, which originates in the Himalayas, crossed the danger mark on Tuesday, posing a threat of flooding in low-lying areas of the city.
