LAHORE: At least seven people have lost their lives as Lahore, Pakistan’s second-largest city, experienced a “record-breaking” downpour that led to urban flooding and significant damage to infrastructure. The heavy rainfall, measuring 291 millimeters, caught authorities by surprise, according to Punjab caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi.
The casualties resulted from various incidents, including roof collapses, drowning, and electrocution, as reported by Chief Minister Naqvi. Expressing concern over the situation, Naqvi announced that response teams were deployed throughout the city to clear main roads and drain water from submerged areas.
https://twitter.com/MohsinnaqviC42/status/1676551750667436032
Areas such as Muslim Town, Garden Town, and Gulberg faced major inundation due to the overflow of water from the Lahore Canal. The Punjab caretaker government is preparing for another spell of rain expected to hit the city at 9 p.m., with Naqvi personally overseeing the response efforts.
According to data from the Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA), certain parts of the city recorded over 200 millimeters of rainfall in the past ten hours. Lakshmi Chowk received the highest amount with 291mm, followed by Nishter Town with 277mm and Qurtaba Chowk with 270mm. Wasa Managing Director Gufran Ahmed assured that all disposal systems were operating at maximum capacity and expected the rainwater to be drained within three to four hours.
Record-Breaking Rain in Lahore
The Lahore Commissioner, Muhammad Ali Randhawa, remarked that such intense rainfall within a short period had not been witnessed in the past 30 years. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif promptly took notice of the situation and instructed the Punjab caretaker chief minister to mobilize relief teams, emphasizing the protection of lives and property.
The Met Office forecasts intermittent showers to continue in Lahore for the next 24 hours. PM Shehbaz also urged the federal government, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), and other concerned agencies to provide assistance if necessary. Precautionary measures, including warning citizens, establishing alternative traffic routes, and draining accumulated rainwater, were advised.
Furthermore, the prime minister instructed authorities to address the situation in other rain-affected regions across the country. Livestock protection and the safe relocation of residents from low-lying areas were highlighted as crucial actions to be taken. The district administration in hilly areas, including Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, were mobilized to ensure public safety. Shehbaz Sharif requested continuous updates on the developments from relevant authorities.
Separately, the prime minister also directed an investigation into incidents of electrocution in Lahore, seeking a report from the inspection commission to determine whether Lahore Electric Supply Company’s inefficiency contributed to the tragic events.
![NEW YORK: Pakistan's former Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, leading Pakistan’s high-level parliamentary delegation, on Tuesday warned that India's aggressive actions pose a serious threat to peace in South Asia and urged the international community to take note of India's aggressive conduct. Bilawal was addressing a press conference at the United Nations headquarters in New York on recent regional developments after the military conflict between India and Pakistan. The Pakistani delegation is in New York to present Pakistan’s stance on the military escalation with India and to challenge New Delhi’s narrative at the global level. The visit is part of Pakistan’s sustained diplomatic outreach to brief key UN stakeholders on the alarming regional situation. The Pakistani delegation is also scheduled to arrive in Washington today, where it plans to engage with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, other senior officials, lawmakers, and think tanks till June 6. The team will also visit London and Brussels. Speaking at the press conference, Bilawal said that he wanted to use the opportunity to share Pakistan’s perspective on the recent military conflict with India in the wake of the Pahalgam attack and the way forward. Bilawal said that the “illegal strikes” launched by India as part of its ‘Operation Sindoor’ were “in violation of the UN Charter, international law”. He said the attacks had targeted civilian infrastructure, places of worship, energy infrastructure and innocent women and children. He said India had used the April 22 terrorist attack in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir’s (IIOJK) Pahalgam as a pretext to launch the attack inside Pakistan. Following the Pahalgam incident, Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif offered publicly to India that Pakistan was ready to be part of any impartial international investigation into this attack. “We did so because we were confident, our hands were clean and we had nothing to do with this terrorist attack. “We expressed our sympathy with the victims of terrorism and Pakistan has consistently and unequivocally condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations,” he said, adding that PM Sharif had immediately expressed Pakistan’s willingness to India and the global community to be part of any impartial international investigation. “Indian government refused Pakistan's offer and chose instead to conduct their illegal strikes. Pakistan only then acted in self-defence, we never initiated any violence against India,” Bilawal said. Bilawal emphasised that Pakistan never initiated hostilities against India but responded to Indian aggression by downing six Indian fighter jets. "The Pakistani military had responded with precision the night of the first Indian attack and only targeted and downed six planes because we believed those were the ones to release their load on Pakistan”. He stated that US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio played a vital role in achieving a ceasefire during heightened tensions between the nuclear-armed South Asian neighbours. “We’ve seen during the course of this conflict how quickly the escalation ladder between our two countries rose and the concern is that the next time there is such an incident, there may not be time for the international community to intervene before things get a lot worse. That is why it is absolutely important for Pakistan and the international community to continue to pursue dialogue and diplomacy as the only viable path to peace.” He said Pakistan’s position was to hold a “comprehensive dialogue” with India that would include the issue of terrorism as well. The head of the Pakistani delegation said that no civilized nation can support the use of water as a weapon and urged the international community to play its part, questioning, "What would be the global reaction if someone’s lifeline was cut off?" He stressed that Pakistan has paid a heavy price in the fight against terrorism and has suffered the most. “The single largest number of terrorist attacks that take place in any one country is Pakistan. The single largest number of victims of terrorism is Pakistan. I myself have suffered at the hands of terrorists. My mother [Benazir Bhutto] was assassinated by the terrorists.” Bilawal also criticised India for targeting water reservoirs and civilian areas, including mosques, during its attacks. Calling negotiations the only path to peace, Bilawal reiterated that the unresolved Kashmir dispute remains the root cause of regional instability. He urged the global community to take notice of India’s aggressive conduct.](https://wenewsenglish.com/storage/2025/06/Bilawal-Bhutto-Zardari-300x180.jpg)
