As floods continue to ravage towns, villages and large swathes of farmlands across Pakistan, especially the Punjab province, the death toll has increased to 964 since the monsoon rains started, officials said Saturday.
Of these deaths, at least 101 people died in the Punjab province in the recent spell of rains with the officials describing the disaster as “the largest in Punjab’s history,” with nearly 5,000 villages inundated and more than 4.57 million people affected and 1,00,000 people evacuated to safer places over the last three days.
The massive flood waters have been ravaging southern districts of Punjab province where the situation is still precarious and authorities are struggling to shift people to safer places.
Multan Deputy Commissioner (DC) Waseem Hamid Sindhu said that more than 1,00,000 people were evacuated to safer places over the last three days, according to the state-run media Associated Press of Pakistan (APP).
He also said that rescue and relief operations are ongoing with boats, helicopters and even drones being pressed into service. Breaches in embankments are being repaired on priority basis, he added.
“More than 4.57 million people have been affected in Punjab due to continued floods,” according to local officials.
The APP, in another report, quoted Rescue 1122 spokesperson Farooq Ahmed as saying that 1,517 boats with trained personnel were continuously engaged in flood rescue operations across Punjab. “In the last 24 hours alone, 14,247 people were rescued from flood-hit areas,” he said on Saturday morning.
Since August 23, when the current spell of rains and floods started, “at least 101 people have died in the worst floods to hit Punjab in decades,” Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) Director General Irfan Ali Kathia said on Thursday.
While speaking with media, Kathia described the disaster as the largest in Punjab’s history, with nearly 5,000 villages inundated, newspaper The News International said.
Eight people were killed in the last 24 hours in Punjab, officials said Saturday morning.
Major rivers and their tributaries in the province, including Sutlej, Chenab and Ravi, witnessed continued high-level flooding with villages, towns and farmlands being inundated.
In the Sindh province, Guddu barrage, Sukkur barrage and Kotri barrage among others witnessed high flood discharge, according to figures shared by the local authorities.
According to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), so far 964 people have been killed while another 1,062 injured during this year’s monsoon spell since June 26.
Even when the Punjab province is facing a massive brunt during this spell, it is the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province that has registered most deaths at 504, followed by Punjab (276), Sindh (70), Balochistan (26) and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (79) among others since June 26, the NDMA data said.
The 1,062 injured include 660 people belonging to Punjab, 218 to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 87 from Sindh province.
Meanwhile, army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir visited Kasur Sector and the Flood Relief Camp in Jalalpur Pirwala, Multan on Saturday to review the prevailing flood situation and ongoing relief efforts, according to a statement by the army.
While interacting with civil administration, he emphasised that all necessary measures including infrastructural development required for protecting the people against the devastations caused by frequent floods should be expedited.
The COAS also undertook an aerial reconnaissance of flood-affected areas both along Lahore-Kasur and Multan-Jalalpur Pir Wala Axes to assess the scale of damage and ongoing relief efforts.
Meanwhile, former cricketer Wasim Akram took to social media to offer condolences and solidarity to families affected by cloudbursts and flash floods across the country describing them as “truly heart-wrenching.”
“In this difficult time, we stand in solidarity with all those affected. I deeply appreciate the tireless efforts of our military personnel and aid workers who are reaching out to help. My prayers are with everyone displaced, and I hope they are able to return to their homes soon,” he posted on X.
new measures, describing them as a “timely and necessary” step amid intensified Russian attacks. “All infrastructure of Russia’s war must be blocked,” Zelenskyy said, adding that Ukraine will synchronize its sanctions with the EU and introduce its own additional measures soon.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov brushed off the EU move, saying that “we consider such unilateral restrictions unlawful”. “At the same time, we have acquired certain immunity from sanctions. We have adapted to living under sanctions,” Peskov said in a conference call with reporters.
“We will need to analyse the new package in order to minimise negative consequences from it.” The UK has Russia’s spies in its sights The UK, meanwhile, imposed sanctions on units of Russia’s military intelligence service, GRU. Also added to the list were 18 officers the UK said helped to plan a bomb attack on a theatre in southern Ukraine in 2022 and to target the family of a former Russian spy who was later poisoned with a nerve agent. Hundreds of civilians sheltering in the theatre in Mariupol were killed in March 2022, shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine.
“GRU spies are running a campaign to destabilise Europe, undermine Ukraine’s sovereignty and threaten the safety of British citizens,” UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy said. NATO also condemned Russia’s cyberattacks, saying in a statement that “we will respond to these at a time and in a manner of our choosing, in accordance with international law, and in coordination with our international partners including the EU”.
Targeting Russian energy interests The European Commission, the EU’s executive branch, had proposed to lower the oil price cap from $60 to $45, which is lower than the market price, to target Russia’s vast energy revenues. The 27 member countries decided to set the price per barrel at just under $48.
The EU had hoped to get major international powers in the Group of Seven countries involved in the price cap to broaden the impact, but the Trump administration could not be brought onboard. Oil income is the linchpin of Russia’s economy, allowing President Vladimir Putin to pour money into the armed forces without worsening inflation for everyday people and avoiding a currency collapse. A new import ban was also imposed in an attempt to close a loophole allowing Russia to indirectly export crude oil via a number of non-EU countries.
The EU also targeted the Nord Stream pipelines between Russia and Germany to prevent Putin from generating any revenue from them in future, notably by discouraging would-be investors. Russian energy giant Rosneft’s refinery in India was hit as well.