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KARACHI: The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) in Pakistan’s southern Sindh province has warned that the River Indus at Sukkur will remain in “high flood” level for the next few days, as the countrywide death toll from monsoon rains surged to nearly 1,000. 

Sindh has been bracing for floods as water levels rise at the Guddu and Sukkur barrages in southern Pakistan. Devastating floods in Punjab, which have killed 104 people, forced over 2.5 million people to evacuate and affected more than 4.5 million since late August, are now making their way toward Sindh. 

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) reported on Monday that the water inflows at Guddu Barrage in Kashmore district was recorded at 624,456 cusecs while the outflow was recorded at 594,936 cusecs. The NDMA said the water inflows at Sukkur Barrage were recorded at 556,217 cusecs while the outflows were recorded at 502,667 cusecs. 

“River Indus at Sukkur is expected to remain in high flood level during next few days,” PDMA Sindh said in its report on Monday. 

The PDMA Punjab reported that water levels in Punjab’s Ravi, Chenab and Sutlej rivers were recorded at “stable” levels, indicating that water levels were receding in the province and flowing downstream. 

Separately, the NDMA said in its latest situation report on Sept. 15 that the death toll from rain-related incidents since Jun. 26 had surged to 992, with the highest deaths reported in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), 504, followed by Punjab with 290, Sindh with 80, northern Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) with 41, Azad Kashmir with 38, Balochistan with 30 and Islamabad with nine casualties. 

DENGUE OUTBREAKS

As Punjab’s swollen rivers inundate thousands of villages and settlements in the province, Pakistani authorities have warned of dengue outbreaks in the country’s major cities and other flood-affected areas. 

Dengue is a viral infection caused by the dengue virus, which is transmitted to humans through the bite of infected mosquitoes. While many dengue infections are asymptomatic or produce only mild illness, the virus can occasionally cause more severe cases, and even death.

In an alert issued on Sept. 15, the meteorological department warned that floods have left behind stagnant water and poor drainage, creating conducive environmental conditions for mosquito breeding and transmission of dengue.

“The combined impact of favorable weather thresholds and flood-related waterlogging has made condition conducive from 20th September 2025 for the dengue onset,” the Met Department said. “It is predicted that this season poses an unprecedentedly high-risk of a severe dengue outbreak, particularly in ten major cities of Pakistan i.e., Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Faisalabad, Sialkot, Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Sukkur, Hyderabad and Multan as well as in flood affected areas across the country.”

Despite contributing only 1 percent to global greenhouse gas emissions, Pakistan is consistently ranked among countries affected the most by climate change. Devastating floods in 2022 left nearly 1,700 people dead, one-third of the country submerged at one point in time and inflicted damages of over $30 billion, Pakistan estimated.

ISLAMABAD: Five soldiers, including a captain, were killed in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province this week, the military’s media wing said, as Islamabad struggles to contain surging militancy. 

The IED blast took place when security forces were moving for a sanitization operation in Sher Bandi area of the southwestern Kech district on Sept. 15, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement on Monday. The ISPR said the casualties included Captain Waqar Ahmed, 25, Naik Amat Ullah, 35, Lance Naik Junaid Ahmed, 29, Lance Naik Khan Muhammad, 29 and Sepoy Muhammad Zahor, 28. 

“During follow up sanitization operation five terrorists of Indian proxy, Fitna Al Hindustan, were sent to hell,” the ISPR said. 

The military’s media wing commonly uses the term “Fitna Al Hindustan,” meaning “India’s mischief,” in the local language to establish a link between separatist militants in Balochistan with the Indian state. 

India denies it is involved in fanning militant activities in Pakistan’s Balochistan and northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) provinces. 

“The sacrifices of brave officers and soldiers further strengthen our resolve, as the security forces of Pakistan in step with the nation remain steadfast to eradicate Indian sponsored terrorism from the country,” the ISPR said. 

The attack takes place as Pakistan struggles to contain surging militancy in Balochistan, which borders Iran and Afghanistan. The province, considered Pakistan’s most backward one by almost all social and economic indicators, has been the plagued by a low-level insurgency for years. 

Islamabad-based think tank Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS) said in a report last month that the country witnessed a sharp escalation in militant violence in August, with attacks reaching their highest monthly level in more than a decade. 

The report said Balochistan saw 28 attacks in August that killed 52 people, including 23 security personnel and 21 civilians. Militants kidnapped at least five people, while security operations killed 50 fighters, the highest number in Balochistan since June 2015, when 60 militants were reported killed. Security officials said those targeted included members of separatist groups such as the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) and Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF).

Separatist militant groups such as the BLA and the BLF accuse Islamabad of depriving the province’s locals of a share in its natural resources, allegations which Islamabad denies. The civilian government and military point to several health, education and social initiatives in Balochistan that they saw are designed to reduce unemployment and provide benefits to people.