LAHORE: The Sutlej River has burst its banks following India’s release of water from its reservoirs after a severe monsoon spell, inundating multiple districts across Punjab and displacing tens of thousands of people.
The flood emergency comes amid mounting casualties nationwide, with Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) confirming that at least 799 people have been killed since late June as torrential rains and floods batter the country.
Villages submerged, crops destroyed
In Pakpattan district, protective embankments near Basti Chakr Loka and Kund Nain Singh were swept away, sending torrents into nearby villages. Locals, accusing authorities of failing to provide timely support, have been struggling to rebuild embankments on a self-help basis.
Floodwaters have severely hit Kasur, Okara, Pakpattan, Bahawalnagar, and Vehari districts. Rescue teams said over 19,000 people, along with livestock, have been evacuated to safer areas, but thousands more remain stranded.
In Bahawalnagar’s Minchinabad tehsil, water has wiped out standing crops in Wazira Gaduka and McLeod Ganj, devastating rice, sesame, and fodder fields. Temporary embankments have collapsed around Baba Farid Bridge, cutting off access to Minchinabad city.
In Zafarwal, a 500-foot breach in the Dek Drain near Lahri submerged dozens of villages. Boats are being used to evacuate families trapped in their homes.
Rising flood levels in rivers
At Ganda Singh Wala on the Sutlej, the water flow has surged to 133,000 cusecs, categorised as a high-level flood. At Head Sulemanki, inflow stands at 94,000 cusecs with an outflow of 87,000.
Flood Forecasting Division (FFD) officials have warned that the Sutlej will remain in high flood for several days depending on Indian releases, while Rivers Chenab and Indus are expected to reach high flood levels within 24 hours. A moderate flood threat also looms for the Ravi, with flows recorded at 39,000 cusecs at Jassar, 41,000 at Balloki, and 33,000 at Head Sidhnai.
Low-level flooding has already been reported at Kalabagh and Chashma on the Indus, and in hill torrents of Dera Ghazi Khan. Smaller streams such as Aik and Basantar are also rising.
India shares warning outside treaty framework
The crisis has also carried a diplomatic dimension. India’s High Commission in Islamabad shared a warning of possible cross-border flooding with Pakistan’s foreign ministry on Sunday, citing “humanitarian grounds.” New Delhi bypassed the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty mechanism, which traditionally governs such water-sharing communication.
The unusual step comes months after India announced it had placed the treaty “in abeyance,” linking the move to a militant attack on Hindu pilgrims in Jammu and Kashmir earlier this year—a claim Islamabad has denied.
Pakistan’s foreign ministry condemned the decision, calling India’s unilateral suspension of the treaty a “serious violation of international law” with “significant negative consequences for peace and stability in South Asia.”
Regional devastation
In India’s Jammu and Kashmir region, relentless rains have killed at least 60 people. Across the border, nearly 400 people have died in northwest Pakistan, with Punjab bracing for fresh flooding as Indian dams, swollen with rainwater, release further discharges downstream.
Pakistani officials warned that additional inflows from the Tawi River, which feeds into the Sutlej, could intensify flooding in the coming days.
Disaster management official Mazhar Hussain said, “Heavy rains across the border have filled Indian dams, forcing them to release water. Combined with Pakistan’s own rainfall, this will cause high floods in Sutlej, Ravi, and Chenab.”
Mounting toll, uncertain relief
The NDMA said floods since June have claimed 799 lives across Pakistan, with more than 19,000 people already displaced in Punjab alone. Officials caution that with heavy rainfall forecast until September 10, both the humanitarian and agricultural toll could worsen.
Meanwhile, many families in Punjab’s low-lying areas say they have no alternative shelter despite government warnings to evacuate.
