Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry announced on Monday that India has provided an official alert regarding possible cross-border flooding resulting from heavy monsoon rains. This communication represents the first known public and official contact between the two nuclear-armed rivals in months, breaking a diplomatic silence that has persisted since they exchanged missile strikes in May following a deadly attack on tourists in Kashmir.
Significantly, New Delhi conveyed the warning through direct diplomatic channels rather than the established Indus Waters Commission, the permanent body created by the 1960 treaty that governs the sharing of the river system. An Indian government official, speaking anonymously, clarified that the information was shared on “humanitarian grounds” and not under the provisions of the treaty, which India suspended after the April attack.
The alert comes as both nations grapple with a devastating monsoon season. Since late June, floods triggered by the rains have killed nearly 800 people in Pakistan, while dozens have perished in Indian-administered Kashmir. The two countries are currently observing a fragile, U.S.-brokered ceasefire that has held since their military escalation three months ago, making this humanitarian-based communication a noteworthy, albeit cautious, development.
