ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday directed rescue and disaster management bodies to ensure "foolproof measures" to deal with possible floods in Pakistani rivers, a statement from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said, as the South Asian country braces for monsoon rains and subsequent deluges.
At least 80 people have died in Pakistan in weather-related incidents since June 25, with heavy rains impacting tens of thousands of people in the nation. Authorities have been on especially high alert for the season’s first flooding after India diverted waters from dams into the Ravi River, which flows from India into Pakistan, prompting evacuations from the lowlands in eastern Punjab province.
Under the Indus Waters Treaty, which was brokered by the World Bank and signed between Pakistan and India in 1960, India has control over the waters of the three eastern rivers – the Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej – while Pakistan controls the waters of the three western rivers — the Indus, Chenab, and Jhelum.
"The prime minister directed rescue organizations to undertake foolproof arrangements to deal with the possible flood situation in Ravi, Chenab and Sutlej [rivers]," a PMO statement said. "The prime minister also directed [authorities] to ensure people are safely and timely evacuated, and are made aware [of the flood situation.]"
The NDMA said on Sunday Punjab's northern and northeastern cities including Lahore, Sialkot, and Narowal, were expected to receive heavy monsoon rains due to which Chenab, Ravi, Sutlej and their tributaries could experience flooding.
Rains have returned to Pakistan a year after the climate-induced downpour swelled rivers and inundated at one point one-third of Pakistan, killing 1,739 people. The floods also caused $30 billion in damage in cash-strapped Pakistan in 2022.
