India issues fresh flood alert to Pakistan, warns of ‘high probability’ of Tawi flooding

Tawi river flows in spate following heavy rainfall, in Jammu on Tuesday. The river, which originates in the Himalayas, flows through Jammu before merging with the Chenab in Pakistan.

India, on Wednesday, issued a fresh alert to Pakistan over the “high probability” of flooding in the Tawi river, following incessant rainfall in northern states that forced the release of excess water from major dams, official sources confirmed on Wednesday.

The warnings were sent to Islamabad through the Ministry of External Affairs on “humanitarian grounds,” the sources added.

“We issued another alert yesterday (Tuesday) and one today (Wednesday) of high probability of flooding in the Tawi river. The gates of some dams had to be opened due to excessive rains being witnessed in Indian regions,” a source, cited by PTI, has stated.

The Tawi river, which originates in the Himalayas, flows through Jammu before merging with the Chenab in Pakistan.

India, on April 23, suspended routine exchange of hydrological data under the Indus Waters Treaty after 26 people were killed in the April 22 terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, carried out by Pakistan-based terrorists.

Despite the suspension, the fresh flood warnings were conveyed “to avoid the loss of life and property across the border,” sources noted on Wednesday.

The alerts come amid heavy rainfall across northern India.

In Punjab, the Sutlej, Beas and Ravi rivers, along with seasonal rivulets, are flowing above danger levels, while Jammu too has been battered by downpours, forcing authorities to open sluice gates of key reservoirs.

The Indus Waters Treaty, brokered by the World Bank in 1960, has long governed the sharing of river waters between the two countries. However, a day after the Pahalgam attack, India placed the agreement “in abeyance” as part of punitive measures against Pakistan.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has also warned of heavy rains across most parts of the country until August 30.

Notably, the fresh alert comes as Pakistan is still reeling from earlier monsoon spells between June 26 and August 20, which claimed 788 lives and left 1,018 people injured, according to NDMA data released on Saturday.