Category: 1. Pakistan

Multan [Pakistan], September 4 (ANI): Provincial authorities in Punjab on Wednesday braced for “super flood” as the convergence of the swollen Ravi and Chenab rivers near Khanewal threatened the districts of Multan and Muzaffargarh, Dawn reported. Officials warned of a “dual threat” despite several controlled breaches over the past week.
The water level at Muhammadwala and Sher Shah was recorded at 412 feet, only five feet below the critical level. Authorities termed the next 12 hours as critical, with pressure at the breaching points increasing after the convergence of the Ravi and Chenab rivers near Khanewal, Dawn added.
To protect urban centres along the eastern rivers, the Punjab government has been conducting controlled breaches to relieve pressure on barrages and main embankments, safeguarding densely populated cities. A decision on whether to conduct breaches at Head Muhammadwala, Sher Shah Flood Bund, and Rangpur is expected within hours, with 17 points identified to save Multan and Muzaffargarh.
The situation is compounded by an enormous surge of approximately 550,000 cusecs that crossed the Marala and Khanki Headworks, recorded passing through Qadirabad Headworks at 530,000 cusecs. Officials projected the surge would reach Trimmu Headworks on Thursday and Multan by Friday, Dawn reported.
“The next 12 hours are extremely critical. We are facing a dual threat: the existing high water from the confluence of the rivers and a new, massive wave heading directly for us. All resources are being mobilised,” a Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) official said.
Railway traffic to Karachi and vice versa was suspended from Faisalabad after a bridge on the Chenab River in Abdul Hakim came under water.
In a press conference on Wednesday evening, PDMA Director General Irfan Ali Kathia said the flood crisis was set to intensify as all three major Indian dams were expected to reach maximum capacity within 72 hours, worsening an already catastrophic situation in the Punjab river system. “The next 72 hours are critical,” he warned, Dawn reported.

He confirmed that while the Chenab River’s water level was currently stable, previously affected districts were likely to face renewed flooding. The Sutlej River has remained in flood-like conditions for two months, while the Ravi River showed rising levels at the Jassar monitoring point.
“Thein Dam is already full and will continue to release water into the Ravi for the next two to three weeks. While the situation in Ravi will not be as severe as before, water levels will definitely increase,” DG Kathia said.
In an alarming development, the DG explained that instead of merging with the Chenab as expected, the Ravi’s waters are flowing backwards, preventing a decrease in water levels. “Until water levels decrease at Ahmadpur Sial, we will not see any reduction at Sidhnai,” he clarified.
The press conference followed a personal assessment of the critical Head Muhammadwala site by Punjab CM Maryam Nawaz. DG Kathia said only four to five feet of capacity remained before reaching critical levels. “At Sher Shah Bridge in Multan, there’s significant water pressure with only a two-foot margin remaining. Important decisions regarding a controlled breaching in Multan have already been made to prevent uncontrolled overflow,” he said, Dawn reported.
Over 3,900 villages and a population exceeding 3.7 million have been affected across Punjab. The death toll has risen to 46, while over 1.4 million residents and one million animals have been relocated to safer locations, Dawn added.
Relief efforts include 409 flood camps providing essential facilities to around 25,000 displaced persons. In Khanewal and Toba Tek Singh, 136 and 75 villages, respectively, have already been affected, with numbers expected to rise due to renewed surges.
CM Maryam Nawaz visited flood relief camps in Multan, directing district administrations to assess the damage, ensure clean drinking water, and conduct fumigation and dry germicidal sprays in flood relief camps and tent cities.
As of 11 pm on Wednesday, Marala Headworks on the Chenab reported a flow of 444,754 cusecs, falling, while Khanki and Qadirabad Headworks held steady with flows of 558,683 and 557,440 cusecs, respectively. Other key monitoring points, including Chiniot Bridge, Head Muhammadwala, Rivaz Bridge, and Trimmu Headworks, showed varying rising or steady trends.
For the Ravi River, upstream at Jassar, water flow was receding at 82,140 cusecs, while downstream points such as Ravi Syphon and Shahdara showed rising levels. The Sutlej River system remained stable across all monitoring stations, including GS Wala, Sulemanki, Islam, Panjnad Headworks, and Malsi Syphon. (ANI)

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday dismissed contempt petitions filed by PTI leaders Shibli Faraz and Kanwal Shauzab over the non-removal of their names from the travel ban list.

Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri heard the case, but with no representation appearing on behalf of the petitioners despite being called twice, the court dismissed the pleas for non-prosecution.

Earlier, both leaders had moved contempt petitions alleging that authorities had failed to comply with a previous court order directing the removal of their names from the no-fly list.

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Lahore on Thursday granted bail to PTI founder Imran Khan’s nephew Shershah Khan in a case pertaining to the Jinnah House attack during the May 9, 2023 riots.

The Lahore Police arrested Shershah, son of Imran’s sister Aleema Khan, from outside his home on August 22. He was then sent on a five-day physical remand and later to jail for 14 days on August 28.

Today’s development comes a day after Shershah’s triathlete brother, Shahrez Khan, was also granted bail in a similar case. Shahrez was picked up on August 21 and was handed over to police custody for eight days before his judicial remand and bail.

In the last hearing on Tuesday, the ATC had again granted the prosecution time till today to present the case record in connection with Shershah’s post-arrest bail plea.

ATC Judge Manzer Ali Gill presided over the hearing today, where Advocate Rana Mudassar Umer appeared as Shershah’s counsel.

During the hearing, Umer pointed out that the prosecution had still not produced the case record in the Jinnah House attack case against Shershah.

“No one knows when the trial will begin. Therefore, the suspect cannot be kept in jail for an unlimited period,” the counsel contended. He asserted that “no evidence” had been produced against his client on the record.

“The suspect was not involved in any riots,” Umer stated, arguing that individuals with more serious charges against them had been given bail in other cases.

“Someone cannot be implicated [in a case] just based on one suspect’s identification of him,” the lawyer contended.

Pointing out the arrest “28 months” after the May 9 incidents, Umer alleged, “Vindictive actions are being taken because of being a part of the PTI founder’s family.

The lawyer called the purported recovery of a cane from Shershah, as per the prosecution, “planted”. He argued that the same ATC had previously discharged PTI’s Dr Yasmin Rashid from a case based on a co-suspect’s statement.

Subsequently, Judge Gill accepted the post-arrest bail plea of Shershah against a surety bond of Rs100,000 and ordered his release, if not needed in any other case.

Umer, on X, said the bail was a “result of teamwork” of the lawyers.

Shershah’s lawyer, Barrister Taimur Malik, also confirmed the bail approval on X.

His cousin, Qasim Zaman Khan, referring to the bails of both brothers, alleged: “These arrests were nothing but political victimisation.”

Amnesty International and the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan had expressed their concerns over the arrests of Shahrez and Shershah, with the former terming them a “political witch-hunt”.

Minister of State for Interior Tallal Chaudhry had defended the arrests, saying they could not be chalked off as “fake, fabricated [or] politically motivated”.

On May 9, 2023, PTI supporters, protesting Imran’s arrest, staged violent protests throughout the country, vandalising military installations and state-owned buildings, while also attacking the Lahore corps commander’s residence.

Following the riots, the state launched a crackdown on the PTI, with thousands of protesters and top party leadership arrested. Scores of PTI leaders have recently been convicted in cases over the riots and disqualified from their parliamentary roles.

SHER SHAH, Pakistan (AP) — Officials say nearly 300,000 people have been evacuated in the past 48 hours from flood-hit areas of Pakistan’s Punjab province following the latest flood alerts by India, officials said Wednesday.

The evacuations bring the total number of people displaced since last month to 1.3 million.

Floodwaters have submerged dozens of villages in Punjab’s Muzaffargarh district, after earlier inundating Narowal and Sialkot, both near the border with India.

Authorities are also struggling to divert overflowing rivers onto farmlands to protect major cities, as part of one of the largest rescue and relief operations in the history of Punjab, which straddles eastern Pakistan and northwestern India.

Thousand of rescuers using boats are taking part in the relief and rescue operations, while the military has also been deployed to transport people and animals from inundated villages, said Arfan Ali Kathia, director-general of Punjab’s Provincial Disaster Management Authority.

A new flood alert was shared with Pakistan by neighboring India through diplomatic channels early Wednesday, Kathia said. It was the second such alert in 24 hours following heavy rains and water releases from dams in India.

Kathia said the Ravi, Chenab and Sutlej rivers are all in high flood following torrential rains and upstream discharges.

Rescuers are also using drones to find people stranded on rooftops in the flood-hit areas. Kathia said more than 3.3 million people across 33,000 villages in the province have been affected so far. Damages are still being assessed and all those who lost homes and crops would be compensated by the Punjab government, he said.

Landslides and flooding have killed at least 29 people in India’s Punjab state, home to more than 30 million people.

Tent villages are being set up and food and other essential items are being supplied to the flood-affected people, he said, though many survivors complained about a lack of government aid.

There are about 40,000 people in the relief camps, according to the National Disaster Management Authority. It remains unclear where the rest are sheltering.

Noor Mohammad, a 54-year-old farmer in Sher Shah village near Muzaffargarh district, said he hasn’t received any help.

“Frustrated over this dayslong situation, I sent my family members to stay with relatives in the nearby area,” he said, standing on higher ground overlooking his flooded village.

Malik Ramzan, another displaced resident, said he chose to stay near his inundated home rather than enter a relief camp. “There are no livable facilities in the camps,” he said. “Food isn’t delivered on time, and we are treated like beggars,” he said.

However, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif visited flood-hit areas in Muzaffargarh on Wednesday, meeting with displaced families at relief camps. Her visit came just hours after India issued the latest cross-border flood alert.

Last week’s flooding mainly hit districts in Kasur, Bahawalpur and Narowal, where the deluge also submerged the shrine of Guru Nanak, located near the Indian border. However, authorities said the shrine is being reopened for pilgrims after water receded and the building was cleaned and restored.

Pakistan began mass evacuations last month after India released water from overflowing dams into low-lying border regions.

The latest floods are the worst since 2022 when climate-induced flooding killed nearly 1,700 people in Pakistan.

___

Associated Press writers Dogar in Lahore, Pakistan and Munir Ahmed in Islamabad, contributed to this story.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday expressed sorrow over devastating floods in northern Pakistan that have killed hundreds and displaced millions.

“The Secretary-General is profoundly saddened by the recent floods in northern Pakistan, which have reportedly claimed more than 400 lives,” his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.

The disaster, caused by a “severe monsoon exacerbated by climate change,” has affected some 1.5 million people, leaving hundreds of thousands in need of humanitarian aid, according to the statement.

It further noted that “more than 3,000 homes, over 400 schools, and some 40 health facilities have been damaged.”

The UN chief commended Pakistan’s response efforts, adding that he “commends Pakistani authorities for relocating more than one million people in Punjab.”

He also “expresses his solidarity with the Government and people of Pakistan, extends his heartfelt condolences to the families of those who have lost their lives, and wishes a swift recovery to those who have been injured.”

The statement said the UN and its partners are “working closely with Pakistani authorities to rapidly assess the humanitarian impact of the floods, identify needs, and address gaps in the response.”

It added that “the Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, has released $600,000 from the Regional Humanitarian Pooled Fund to support relief and recovery efforts, and discussions are underway with the Government on a response plan.”

A total of 605 terrorist incidents were reported in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa during the first eight months of the year, claiming 138 civilian lives and leaving 352 injured, according to a Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) report highlighting a surge in militancy.

The report stated that 79 police personnel embraced martyrdom, while 130 sustained injuries in attacks and encounters. Out of 351 suspects named, 32 were killed in operations and five arrested.

August witnessed a sharp escalation with 129 incidents, resulting in 17 civilian deaths and injuries to 51 others.

Security forces also lost 13 police officials, while 46 were wounded in confrontations with militants.

Bannu was the worst-hit district in August with 42 incidents, followed by North Waziristan (15), South Waziristan (14), Dir (11), and Dera Ismail Khan and Kurram (8 each).

The CTD confirmed that eight terrorists were killed in encounters during the month.