ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Meteorological Department on Monday issued a flood warning for Karachi and Hyderabad during a spell of downpours expected from Thursday to Saturday this week.
Rains last month battered Pakistan’s port city and financial hub of Karachi, killing ten and turning even the poshest areas into rivers of trash and leading Prime Minister Imran Khan to call in the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and the army to clean up the city in the aftermath of the downpours.
The Met department said a low pressure system from the Bay of Bengal would approach Sindh province on Thursday, causing “strong monsoon currents ... to penetrate Sindh, south Punjab and eastern Balochistan from Thursday (evening/night) to Saturday.”
“Heavy downpour may generate urban flooding in Karachi and Hyderabad and flash flooding in hill torrents of Khuzdar on Friday/Saturday,” the statement said. “All concerned authorities are advised to remain alert during the period.”
The department added that widespread rain and thundershowers were also expected in the cities of Thatta, Badin, Tharparkar, Umerkot, Mirpurkhas, Sanghar, Tando Allah Yar, Matiari, Tando Muhammad Khan, Jamshoro, Dadu and Shaheed Benazirabad during this period.
Scattered rain and thundershowers would hit Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan, Khairpur, Sukkur, Larkana, Kambarshahdad Kot, Jacobabad, Kashmore, Ghotki, Jaffarabad, Jhalmagsi, Khuzdar, Lasbela and Awaran on Friday and Saturday, the statement said.
Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah visited many areas of Karachi on Monday to review work on the cleaning the the city’s storm-water drains and animal waste after the Eid Al-Adha festival.
On Sunday, NDMA Chairman Lt Gen Mohammad Afzal had said work on cleaning major storm-water drains in Karachi would begin from Monday.
Met department warns rains this week may flood Pakistan’s financial hub of Karachi
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Met department warns rains this week may flood Pakistan’s financial hub of Karachi
- Rains battered Karachi last month, killing ten and turning the city’s streets into rivers of trash
- PM Khan has called in the National Disaster Management Authority and army to clean up the city
At least 13 civilians killed in Pakistan strikes in Afghanistan, UN says
- Pakistan said it launched the strikes after blaming recent suicide attacks on militants operating from Afghan territory
- The reported toll adds to fears of a renewed cycle of retaliation between the neighbors, threatening a fragile ceasefire
ISLAMABAD/KABUL: At least 13 civilians were killed and seven injured in Pakistani airstrikes in eastern Afghanistan, the United Nations said on Monday, as cross-border tensions escalated following a string of suicide bombings in Pakistan.
The reported toll adds to fears of a renewed cycle of retaliation between the neighbors, threatening a fragile ceasefire along their 2,600-km (1,600-mile) frontier and further straining ties as both sides trade blame over militant violence.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said it had received “credible reports” that overnight Pakistani airstrikes on February 21–22 killed at least 13 civilians and injured seven in the Behsud and Khogyani districts of Nangarhar province.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid earlier reported dozens killed or wounded in the strikes, which also hit locations in Paktika province. Reuters could not independently verify the reported toll.
Pakistan said it launched the strikes after blaming recent suicide attacks, including during Ramadan, on militants operating from Afghan territory.
Pakistan’s information ministry in a post on X said the “intelligence-based” operation struck seven camps of the Pakistani Taliban and Daesh (Islamic State) Khorasan Province and that it had “conclusive evidence” the militant assaults on Pakistan were directed by “Afghanistan-based leadership and handlers.”
Kabul has repeatedly denied allowing militants to use Afghan territory to launch attacks in Pakistan.
The strikes took place days after Kabul released three Pakistani soldiers in a Saudi-mediated exchange aimed at easing months of tensions along the border.
Afghanistan’s defense ministry condemned the strikes and called them a violation of sovereignty and international law, saying an “appropriate and measured response will be taken at a suitable time.” The Afghan foreign ministry said it had summoned Pakistan’s ambassador.
In a statement on the February 21-22 strikes, Afghanistan’s education ministry said eight school students; five boys and three girls, were killed in Behsud in Nangarhar province, and one madrasa student injured in Barmal in Paktika province, adding that dozens of other civilians were killed or wounded and educational centers destroyed. Reuters could not independently verify the information.
The latest strikes follow months of clashes and repeated border closures that have disrupted trade and movement along the rugged frontier.
