بعد تحذير هندي.. فيضانات تجلي 150 ألف باكستاني

The Pakistani authorities have evacuated at least 150,000 people from areas along the banks of three rivers in the heart of the flood-threatened agricultural lands after India warned them that it intends to release excess water from one of its dams.

Heavy rains and floods have swept through both countries in the past few weeks, and the release of excess water threatens to inundate part of Pakistan's Punjab province, which is the country's breadbasket and provides a significant portion of its food supply.

Pakistani officials announced that they received a sudden warning from India yesterday, Monday, that it intends to release water from the Madhopur Dam, which has filled rapidly and is located on its side of Punjab.

India periodically releases water from its dams when they become overly full, and the overflow flows into Pakistan.

For its part, a source from the Indian government stated that they did not mention a specific dam, but the heavy rains prompted them to share a second warning with Pakistan through diplomatic channels.

In response to a question about whether more warnings could be issued as the rains continue, he said that it is possible.

Indian authorities had warned Pakistan last Sunday that large amounts of water would flow into its waterways due to the heavy rains.

Three rivers, Ravi, Sutlej, and Chenab, flow from Indian territory into Pakistan. The National Disaster Management Authority of Pakistan stated today (Tuesday) that these rivers are experiencing moderate to high flooding.

Pakistani disaster management official Mazhar Hussain announced that India will release a calculated amount of water from the dams in the coming days. He added that hundreds of villages along the banks of the three rivers have been evacuated.

It is worth noting that Punjab province produces most of Pakistan's staple crops, and there are vast areas of fertile agricultural land along the banks of the three rivers.