Chicago – August 29, 2025
Torrential monsoon rains have ravaged both India and Pakistan this week, with more heavy downpours forecast for the weekend.
On Friday, floodwaters reached the outskirts of Lahore, Pakistan’s second-largest city, and threatened to submerge the major town of Jhang, in what officials described as the worst flooding in nearly 40 years in that region.
The two countries share rivers originating in India that flow into Pakistan, regulated for more than six decades under the Indus Waters Treaty. India suspended the treaty earlier this year following an attack that killed 26 people, which New Delhi blamed on Islamabad — a charge Pakistan strongly denied.
Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal told Reuters that India had stopped sharing crucial river flow data. “We could have managed better if we had better information,” Iqbal said. “If the Indus Waters Treaty was in operation, we could have mitigated the impact.”
Indian media broadcast footage on Thursday showing that the middle section of the Madhopur barrage, which spans the Ravi River, had been washed away by surging water. Pakistani officials said the damage unleashed uncontrolled flows across the border, flooding parts of Lahore.
An Indian government source denied deliberately flooding Pakistan but confirmed that two gates of the barrage had collapsed. The source said flows were being managed by the Ranjit Sagar Dam upstream. “India is doing whatever can be done and all the information is being passed on,” the source said. “Incessant rain is causing this flood.”
