Today's Edition
NEW DELHI/ISLAMABAD (REUTERS)
India has shared a warning on possible cross-border flooding with neighbour Pakistan, Pakistani officials and a source in New Delhi said on Monday, as the two countries grapple with deadly floods and relentless monsoon rains.
India's high commission in Islamabad shared the warning on Sunday with Pakistan's foreign ministry on "humanitarian grounds", the Indian source said, following heavy rains in the Jammu and Kashmir region bordering Pakistan.
The source, citing government rules, declined to be named. India's foreign ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
Pakistan's foreign ministry said the warning was issued through diplomatic channels.
This month floods in Jammu and Kashmir have killed at least 60 people and nearly 400 more in northwest Pakistan.
In total, the floods have killed 799 people in Pakistan since the monsoon started in late June, Pakistan's National Disaster Management Authority said, warning of more heavy rain until September 10.
Mazhar Hussain, a disaster management official in the Pakistani province of Punjab, said the information shared by India included a warning about a possible surge in the Tawi river, which becomes the Sutlej when it crosses into Pakistan.
"It has not indicated the scale of water but has warned about high flooding in the river," Hussain said.
"Moreover, heavy rains across the border have filled the Indian dams, which would force India to release water. Heavy rains in Pakistan and the water released by India would cause high floods in Sutlej, Ravi, and Chenab in Punjab."
