Pakistan’s border villagers face back-to-back evacuations
Villagers in Pakistan’s eastern Kasur district are being forced to flee their homes for the second time this year — first from cross-border fighting, and now from devastating floods.
When floodwaters from across the Indian border surged into Chanda Singh Wala village, 30-year-old Shama gathered her four children to evacuate once again, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
“How many times do we need to leave now?” she asked, as her husband ferried their cows to safety. “We lost so much during the war, and now the water is forcing us out again.”
The crisis has left families exhausted. Many are reluctant to abandon livestock and belongings, while others fear looters. “People don’t always want to leave because they’ve done it so many times already,” said rescue worker Muhammad Arsalan, who has helped evacuate over 1,500 villagers by boat.
Kasur lies just kilometres from the Indian border, where residents can see Indian checkposts from their rooftops. For decades, water sharing was managed under the Indus Waters Treaty, but India suspended the pact earlier this year following militant attacks it blamed on Pakistan.
Now, Pakistan accuses India of worsening the floods by releasing water without warning, while India blames intense monsoon rains. At least 28 people have died in Pakistan so far, with water continuing to surge further south. In India, flash floods in Jammu and Kashmir killed at least 10 people.
Farmers say the deluge has destroyed crops and farmland. “Thirteen of my 15 acres are gone,” said Muhammad Amjad, a rice and vegetable grower. Women and children are being evacuated first, while men stay behind to guard what’s left.
For many, the back-to-back crises underscore a grim reality: life on Pakistan’s volatile border means living under the constant threat of both war and water.
“I’ve seen many floods in my lifetime — 1988, 2023, and now this one,” said 74-year-old Nawabuddin. “But they are coming too often now.”
Zubaida, another resident, put it simply: “We don’t want war, we don’t want excess water. We just want to live.”
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