11 PUNJAB DISTRICTS, SINDH ON ALERT AS TRIPLE-RIVER DELUGE BARRELS TOWARDS SOUTH In partnership with
Sunday, 31 August, 2025 | 6 Rabiul Awal, 1447
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PUNJAB BRACES FOR HISTORIC FLOOD SURGE AS SUTLEJ, RAVI, AND CHENAB OVERFLOW SIMULTANEOUSLY FOR FIRST TIME IN HISTORY
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LAHORE/MULTAN/ISLAMABAD/KARACHI
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MULTAN FORTIFIES FIVE DYKES WITH DYNAMITE TO SHIELD ‘CITY OF SUFIS’ AS CHENAB SURGE NEARS; 300,000 RESIDENTS FACE EVACUATION
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OVER 400,000 PEOPLE ALREADY EVACUATED FROM 138 VULNERABLE LOCALITIES WITH OFFICIALS CALL IT BIGGEST RESCUE OPERATION IN PUNJAB’S HISTORY
punjab CM urges ‘beyond basic governance’ approach in response to ‘historic floods’
saleem Jadoon
LEVEN districts of Punjab have been placed on high alert as a catastrophic flood wave barrels toward southern Punjab, with Multan bracing for impact with the authorities have deployed dynamite along protective bunds in a desperate attempt to shield urban centers, as the Punjab Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) warned that very high to exceptionally high floods will continue in Sutlej, Ravi and Chenab rivers until September 3. According to the Flood Forecasting Division, a monsoon low persisting over north Madhya Pradesh in India is fueling heavy to very heavy rainfall, with extremely heavy falls expected in the upper catchments of the Sutlej, Beas, and Ravi between September 2 and 3. As a result, an exceptionally high flood level is persisting in the Sutlej at Ganda Singh Wala, while the Chenab at Trimmu is projected to rise to similar levels within 24 hours. The Chenab at Panjnad is also forecast to reach a very high flood stage by September 3, prompting the imposition of emergency measures. So far, officials say more than 400,000 people have been evacuated from 138 vulnerable localities as part of the largest rescue operation in the province’s history. The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) confirmed that river flows have reached dangerously high levels across Punjab’s river system. In the Sutlej, water discharge has surged to 253,068 cusecs at Ganda Singh Wala, categorized as extremely high, and 154,219 cusecs at Sulemanki. The Ravi is flowing at 223,385 cusecs at Balloki, also in the extremely high category, while levels stand at 108,960 cusecs at Shahdara and 91,740 at Jassar. The Chenab is registering 150,162 cusecs at Marala, placing it in the medium flood stage, with steadily rising flows at
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staff report
Trimmu and Panjnad. Meanwhile, the Indus River is carrying 350,943 cusecs at Guddu, which is categorized as a medium flood. Officials have emphasized that, for the first time in Pakistan’s history, the Ravi, Chenab and Sutlej are si-
multaneously overflowing, forcing authorities to blow up embankments in certain areas to divert floodwaters away from densely populated towns and cities.
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Sindh ‘fully mobilized’ for major flood wave as 1.6m people, 1,600 villages at risk: Memon KARACHI
staff report
Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Memon on Saturday said the provincial government was “fully mobilized” to deal with looming flood threats converging towards country’s Southern part, where nearly 1.6 million people and more than 1,600 villages are at risk. The deluge, triggered by record monsoon rains and excess water released from upstream India, has already created crisis conditions in Punjab province since Monday. The trans-bound-
ary Chenab, Ravi, and Sutlej rivers have inundated about 2,300 villages across the province, leaving at least 30 people dead. The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) warned a day earlier that extreme flooding was likely in downstream Sindh, with massive flood waves between 900,000 and 1.2 million cusecs expected to pass through barrages in Punjab and Sindh over the next few days. Addressing a news conference in Karachi, Memon said floodwaters were expected to reach Sindh “on the night of September 2 or 3.”
Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz on Saturday chaired a high-level meeting at the Punjab Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) Headquarters to review the ongoing relief and rescue efforts in flood-hit areas, directing officials to go beyond “basic governance” and ensure no gaps remain in operations. “Wherever possible, erect tent villages, provide mobile bathrooms, and prioritize sheltering people in school buildings located in safe zones,” she directed, highlighting that if segregation is required, “allocate separate facilities for men and women.” CM Maryam directed health officials
to maintain adequate stocks of medicines, vaccines, and antidotes and ensure that “Clinics on Wheels” are operating in sufficient numbers. She stressed that distressed citizens should not need to call for help. “Our field formations must know the ground situation—what is happening in every street, in every village,” she said. The CM also ordered an uninterrupted supply of cooked food, dry rations, and drinking water to flood-affected families, along with fodder and water for livestock. Reviewing the scale of operations, she described the evacuations as the “biggest in Punjab’s history,” noting that hundreds of thousands of people and animals had been rescued. “We are facing a situation unprecedented in decades,” she said.
Seven killed as heaviest monsoon spell batters Peshawar, Lahore PESHAWAR/LAHORE staff report
Urban flooding paralyzed parts of Peshawar and Lahore on Saturday as a fresh spell of monsoon rains battered Pakistan, while eastern Punjab continued to grapple with high floods in three major rivers flowing downstream toward Sindh, officials said. The flooding began in Punjab on Monday after India released water into the Chenab, Ravi and Sutlej rivers, submerging farmlands, sweeping away livestock, and affecting over one million people. The
three-river crisis hit as Pakistan was already reeling from weeks of torrential rains and cloudbursts since late June that have killed around 830 people nationwide—more than half of them after Aug. 15, when flash floods and hill torrents in the north and northwest swept away homes and residents. In Peshawar, officials said heavy overnight rains inundated low-lying neighborhoods on Friday, triggering large-scale relief operations. Rescue 1122 evacuated about 300 people with the help of 280 personnel, rubber boats, rescue vans, and ambulances.
SCo Summit: pM arrives in tianjin to present pakistan’s perspective on regional, global issues ISLAMABAD
staff correspondent
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif arrived here on Saturday to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit, the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War in Beijing and other official engagements. The Pakistani delegation accompanying the Prime Minister included Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar, Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal, Minister for Information and Broadcasting At-
taullah Tarar and senior government officials. Sun Meijun, Minister and Secretary of the CPC Committee of the General Administration of Customs of China and Yu Yunlin, Chairman and Party Secretary of the Standing Committee of the Tianjin Municipal People's Congress, China’s ambassador to Pakistan Jiang Zedong and Pakistan’s ambassador to China Khalil Hashmi received the Prime Minister at Tianjin airport. The Prime Minister will address the SCO Council of Heads of State Summit to be held from August 31, to September 01, 2025. During the visit, the Prime Minister
Israeli airstrike on Sanaa kills Houthi PM, ministers; succession moves underway SANAA
agencies
The prime minister of Yemen’s Houthi government, Ahmad Ghaleb al-Rahwi, and several ministers were killed in an Israeli airstrike on the capital Sanaa, the Houthi-run news agency reported on Saturday, citing a statement by Mahdi al-Mashat, head of the group’s Supreme Political Council. The agency said a number of others were wounded in Thursday’s strike but provided no details. Israel, confirming the operation on Friday, said its fighter jets had targeted the Houthi chief of staff, defence minister, and other senior officials, and that it was verifying the outcome. Mashat’s statement did not clarify whether Houthi Defence Minister Mohamed al-Atifi was among the casualties. Shortly after the announcement of Rahwi’s death, however, the Houthi agency published a statement attributed to Atifi, declaring the group was ready to confront Israel. It was unclear whether that statement was made before or after the airstrike. Rahwi, who became prime minister nearly a year ago, was regarded as a figurehead, with his deputy Mohamed Moftah serving as the de facto leader of government affairs. Following the strike, Moftah was formally assigned to take over Rahwi’s duties. Al-Atifi, a key target of the Israeli raid, is widely considered the Houthis’ top missiles expert and heads the group’s Missiles Brigade Group. According to Israeli military sources, the Thursday operation was a “complex strike” involving precise intelligence and aerial superiority, hitting a compound where senior Houthi figures had gathered to watch a televised speech by Abdul Malik alHouthi, the movement’s leader. Since the outbreak of Israel’s war in Gaza against Hamas in October 2023, the Iran-aligned Houthis have stepped up attacks on vessels in the Red Sea, which they describe as acts of solidarity with Palestinians.
will hold bilateral meetings with China’s President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will interact with heads of prominent Chinese business entities and will also chair the second Pakistan-China B2B Investment Conference to be held in Beijing on September 4 to explore new avenues for strengthening trade and investment relations between Pakistan and China. He will also meet leaders of other countries attending the SCO Summit. Before his arrival in China, in a post on X, the Prime Minister said he was departing on a historic visit to China.
“Will participate in the SCO Council of Heads of State Meeting in Tianjin and attend the 80th anniversary of the victory over Fascism in WWII in Beijing,” he said adding, “I look forward to meeting H.E. President Xi Jinping and other world leaders to further build upon our bilateral ties with China, our All Weather Strategic Cooperative Partner, as well as with other key countries of the region, enhance regional cooperation, strengthen multilateralism, and advance shared goals for peace and prosperity.” At SCO summit, PM to present Pakistan’s perspective on regional, global issues
At the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Council of Heads of State summit, Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif will present Pakistan’s perspective on pressing regional and global issues, highlighting strategies to strengthen the SCO’s role in fostering regional cooperation and stability. According to Foreign Office, at the invitation of President of China Xi Jinping, the Prime Minister is leading a delegation to the SCO Council of Heads of State (CHS) and the SCO Council of Heads of State Plus meeting in Tianjin, China, from August 31 to September 1, 2025.