Release of flooding water of India aggravates the crisis in Punjab

Lahore:

As flooding water swells over Punjab after India’s release of water in Eastern rivers, the Pakistani army has been deployed to help with large-scale rescue and relief operations, with National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), confirming that more than 210,000 people have certainly been evacuated from vulnerable areas and no injuries reported so far.

NDMA -Chairman Lieutenant General Inam Haider Malik, who turned to a press briefing on Wednesday, said the evacuations have been performed through coordinated efforts involving Pakistan army, rangers, Rescue 1122, provincial disaster control authorities (PDMAs) and other civilian agencies.

“All evacuated have been moved to government -controlled relief camps where they receive food, medical treatment and important supplies,” he said, adding that these facilities will remain functional until it is safe for families to return home.

The water level is expected to rise significantly in the coming days, with Panjnad’s flow, which is expected to reach 600,000-700,000 CUSSCS, which results in increased surveillance on downstream points, including Kotri and Guddu. Continuous evacuation along the Sutlej River is underway with priority to vulnerable populations directed by the Chief of Army Staff (Coas) Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir.

Authorities said the nearby India had released water from upstream dams on its side of the border, which further increased the amount of water reaching Pakistan. The Foreign Office said New Delhi had given advanced notice through diplomatic channels prior to opening the dam’s waste roads.

Kartarpur flooded as dam of dam blowing

Authorities blasted a dam next to a Monsun-Engorget Dam that flooded immersed one of the world’s holiest Sikh places.

Authorities carried out a controlled explosion of a dam at the Qadirabad Dam on the Chenab River on Wednesday as the water level rose.

“To save the structure, we have violated the real marginal dam, so that the flow of the water is reduced,” said Mazhar Hussain, spokesman for Punjab’s disaster management agency.

Kartarpur Temple, where the founder of Sikh Faith Guru Nanak died in 1539, was submerged by flood water near the border with India.

Five boats were sent to the scattered place to save about 100 people stranded.

Visuals from the area showed Gurdwara Darbar Sajib in the Narowal district completely submerged after the Ravi River flooded its banks.

Disaster Management Authority released emergencies and advised those who live near Chenab, Ravi and Sutlej Rivers to “immediately move to safe locations”.

“I urge the public to evacuate the flooding places along the Ravi River as the water flow is the highest since 1988,” said the provincial disaster SIK IRFAN Ali.

The flood wave “is expected to pass through Lahore tonight and tomorrow morning,” he said of the Punjab capital.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was chairman of an emergency meeting in Islamabad, where he ordered NDMA to strengthen the early warning systems and take immediate action to prevent flooding of cities in Lahore, Sialkot and Gujrat.

This aerial photo shows partially submerged houses in the flooded area of ​​Haque Wala Village in Pakistan’s Kasur District on August 26, 2025. Photo: AFP

The premiere repeated the federal government’s full support for Punjab as it had previously expanded to Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa during the recent flooding events.

At the same briefing, the federal Minister of Information and Radio and TV spreading of Attaullah Tarar reported significant water -standing waves in Sutlej, Ravi and the Chenab Rivers, with the Khanki point exceeding 1,000,000 cussic, now moving towards Qadirabad.

Tarar emphasized that the government is determined to prevent future construction along riverbed and actively coordinates with local administrations for further evacuations, especially in Qadirabad.

During the meeting, it was emphasized that high water discharge levels are closely monitored by the head Marala, Khanki, Balloki and Qadirabad, while pressure points on the Ravi River at Shahdara and Sutlej at Sulemanki are also under control.

Volunteers from Rescue 1122 Search for residents in a flooded area, after monsoon rains and rising water levels in Sialkot, Punjab -Province, Pakistan, August 27, 2025. Photo: Reuters

Officials, including federal ministers Ahsan Iqbal, Musadik Malik, Attaullah Tarar and Ahad Khan Cheema, were present at high -level briefing together with senior NDMA and government representatives.

Earlier, the briefing of the media, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director-General Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said that three rivers in Pakistan experienced floods where the army performed rescue operations in affected areas.

He was flanked by Minister of Information Attaullah Tarar and NDMA -Chairman Lieutenant General Inam Haider Malik.

DG ISPR said troops and officers stood with the nation during this difficult time.

Army inserted into eight districts

In Punjab, chief minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif was chairman of a four-hour emergency meeting to assess district effects and coordinate relief efforts. The Pakistani army has been deployed in eight districts – including Lahore, Kasur, Sialkot, Faisalabad, Narowal, Okara, Sargodha and Hafizabad – to support local administrations.

According to the Punjab Home Department, Army Aviation and additional resources are deployed to the worst affected areas. CM was informed that 72 villages in Kasur and over 150,000 people and 35,000 livestock have already moved to safe zones. Auxiliary camps offer medical and veterinary services where over 2,600 patients are currently being treated.

Floods have destroyed large cuts of Kasur, Okara, Pakpattan, Vehari, Bahawalnagar and Bahawalpur, which affect over 125 villages collectively. Auxiliary materials, including 130 boats, 1,300 life jackets, 6 ambulance bikes and 245 life rings, have been sent.

In addition, NDMA has also issued early warnings for a new spell that is expected between August 29 and September 9, especially targeted waterwater areas that are already struggling with floods.

Earlier, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal India accused of worsening flooding in Pakistan by releasing water in relays instead of sharing timely information under the Indus water Treaty.

River levels remain high

The water level in Pakistan’s largest rivers and reservoirs remains critically high, with inflow that surpass 1.2 million CUSSCS and flooding water, moving downstream of Punjab. Authorities reported both major evacuations and extensive rescue efforts as concerns mounted over the security of the communities along the Chenab, Ravi and Sutlej rivers.

According to the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA), the Indus River at Tarbela registered a influx of 240,000 CUSSCS and outflow of 245,400 CUSSCS.

At the shortage of Jhelum, the inflow was 34,000 CUSSCS and EXIMITION 8,000 CUSSCS. Chashma saw the influx of 326,600 CUSSCS and outflows of 329,000 CUSERCS, while inflow at Chenab at Chenab reached 107,500 CUSSCS against 89,500 CuseC’s outflow.

In Nowshera, the Kabul River recorded 39,400 CUSERCS both in influx and outflow.

Reservoirs remained under pressure, with Tarbela of 1,549 feet with 5.67 million Acre feet (MAF), Mangla of 1,220.95 feet with also 5.67 MAF and Chashma of 647 feet with 0.21 MAF.

Commuters look at the Ravi River from a bridge when the government announced a flood alarm in the Riverside areas of the Punjab Province in Lahore on August 27, 2025. Photo: AFP

The combined usable storage over Tarbela, Mangla and Chashma stood at the 11.55 maf. Since April 1, 11.8 MAF Water – estimated at $ 11 billion – has flowed into the sea.

Indus carried the largest volume to the sea with flood -like relationship reported from Chashma downstream to Kotri. At SUKKUR, DeCharge reached 449,000 CUSSCS; at Guddu, 312,000 CUSSCS; at Taunsa, 345,000 CUSERCS; and in Kalabagh, 271,000 CUSSCS.

At Chenab, flow at the head Marala touched 902,000 CUSERCS, while there is no dam to store its waters.

With additional input from AFP