Mass evacuations in eastern Pakistan as India releases water from swollen rivers

LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan has evacuated tens of thousands of people to safer areas after neighboring India released water from overflowing dams and swollen rivers into low-lying border regions, officials said Tuesday.

The move came a day after New Delhi alerted Islamabad about possible cross-border flooding, marking the first public diplomatic contact between the two nuclear-armed rivals in months.

Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority said it had issued an advance alert to its Punjabi counterparts about a surge in the Sutlej River and the risk of flooding, and that evacuations from various districts in the eastern Punjab province were underway.

In a statement, it said rescuers evacuated more than 14,000 people from Kasur, a district in Punjab province, while over 89,000 were moved to safer ground from the city of Bahawalnagar, near the Indian border.

The NDMA said authorities have urged residents to stay away from rivers, streams and low-lying areas, avoid unnecessary travel, and follow alerts issued through the media, mobile phones and the NDMA’s disaster alert app.

The latest flood alert and evacuation drive by Pakistan comes as heavy monsoon rains continue to batter both South Asian countries.

In Pakistan’s northwest, many residents complained this month that they had received no warning before flash floods struck Buner district, killing more than 300 people. Officials have said the devastation was caused by a sudden cloudburst, which could not have been predicted, and that many of the victims were living along natural water pathways.

Nationwide, floods triggered by seasonal rains have killed more than 800 people in Pakistan since June 26.

In Kashmir, which is split between the two sides and claimed by both in its entirety, at least 65 have also died and hundreds have been displaced in the Indian-administered Jammu area.

Many of the region’s rivers and tributaries eventually flow into Pakistan and the part of Kashmir it controls. On Tuesday, Indian officials said most rivers and streams were overflowing, with muddy waters inundating homes in several places and damaging roads and bridges. Water levels in multiple rivers continued to rise in the region.

According to the Indian Meteorological Department, rains should persist until late Tuesday.

In 2014, Kashmir saw its worst monsoon flooding in a century, leaving 500 people dead across the region.

This week's flood alert was conveyed to Pakistan through diplomatic channels rather than the Indus Waters Commission, the permanent mechanism created under the 1960 World Bank-brokered Indus Waters Treaty, which was suspended by New Delhi after the April killing of 26 tourists in Indian-controlled Kashmir.

Pakistan says India cannot scrap the treaty unilaterally. The treaty had earlier survived two wars between the countries, in 1965 and 1971, and a major border skirmish in 1999. The suspension of treaty and scaling down of diplomatic ties by India over the killing of tourists eventually set off tit-for-tat missile strikes by the both sides in May.

The exchange ended only after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he had brokered a ceasefire. Since then, the two sides have not taken steps to normalize ties.

Pakistan in recent months has witnessed multiple cloudburst floods and more than normal rainfall. Pakistan’s annual monsoon season runs from July through September.

Scientists and weather forecasters have blamed climate change for heavier rains in recent years in the region. This year's heavy rains have raised fears of a repeat of the 2022 downpour, also blamed on climate change, that inundated a third of the country and killed 1,739 people.

Associated Press writer Aijaz Hussain contributed to this story from Srinagar, India.

A family walk toward a rescue boat arriving to evacuate them from a flooded area in Dhoop Sarhi village in Kasur district, Pakistan, Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025, due to the rising water level in Sutlej River, following neighboring India releasing water from overflowing dams. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

Villagers are evacuated by rescue workers from a flooded area in Dhoop Sarhi village in Kasur district, Pakistan, Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025, due to the rising water level in Sutlej River, following neighboring India releasing water from overflowing dams. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

A rescue worker evacuates villagers from a flooded area in Dhoop Sarhi village in Kasur district, Pakistan, Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025, due to the rising water level in Sutlej River, following neighboring India releasing water from overflowing dams. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

Residents run across a bridge over the flooding Beas River following incessant rains in Kullu, in northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Aqil Khan)

A rescue worker helps a family board in a boat to evacuate them from a flooded area in Dhoop Sarhi village in Kasur district, Pakistan, Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025, due to the rising water level in Sutlej River, following neighboring India releasing water from overflowing dams. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

Water level in River Tawi rises closer to a bridge following heavy rains in Jammu, India, Tuesday, Aug 26, 2025.(AP Photo/Channi Anand)

A swelling River Tawi following heavy rains in Jammu, India, Tuesday, Aug 26, 2025.(AP Photo/Channi Anand)

In this photo released by Pakistan's National Disaster Management Authority, rescue workers evacuate villagers from a low-lying area due to rising water level in the Sutlej River following neighbouring India released water from overflowing dams, in Bahawalnagar a district in Pakistan's Punjab province bordering India, Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025. (Pakistan's National Disaster Management Authority via AP)

In this photo released by Pakistan's National Disaster Management Authority, rescue workers help a villager after evacuating him with others from a low-lying area due to rising water level in the Sutlej River following neighbouring India released water from overflowing dams, in Bahawalnagar a district in Pakistan's Punjab province bordering India, Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025. (Pakistan's National Disaster Management Authority via AP)

In this photo released by Pakistan's National Disaster Management Authority, rescue workers evacuate villagers from a low-lying area due to rising water level in the Sutlej River following neighbouring India released water from overflowing dams, in Bahawalnagar a district in Pakistan's Punjab province bordering India, Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025. (Pakistan's National Disaster Management Authority via AP)

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened to invoke an 1807 law and deploy troops to quell persistent protests against the federal officers sent to Minneapolis to enforce his administration's massive immigration crackdown.

The threat comes a day after a man was shot and wounded by an immigration officer who had been attacked with a shovel and broom handle. That shooting further heightened the fear and anger that has radiated across the city since an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent fatally shot Renee Good in the head.

Trump has repeatedly threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act, a rarely used federal law, to deploy the U.S. military or federalize the National Guard for domestic law enforcement, over the objections of state governors.

“If the corrupt politicians of Minnesota don’t obey the law and stop the professional agitators and insurrectionists from attacking the Patriots of I.C.E., who are only trying to do their job, I will institute the INSURRECTION ACT, which many Presidents have done before me, and quickly put an end to the travesty that is taking place in that once great State,” Trump said in social media post.

Presidents have invoked the law more than two dozen times, most recently in 1992 by President George H.W. Bush to end unrest in Los Angeles. In that instance, local authorities had asked for the assistance.

“I’m making a direct appeal to the President: Let’s turn the temperature down. Stop this campaign of retribution. This is not who we are,” Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, said on X.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said he would challenge any such action in court. He's already suing to try to stop the surge by the Department of Homeland Security, which says officers have arrested more than 2,500 people since Nov. 29 as part of an immigration operation in the Twin Cities called Metro Surge.

The operation grew when ICE sent 2,000 officers and agents to the area early in January. ICE is a DHS agency.

In Minneapolis, smoke filled the streets Wednesday night near the site of the latest shooting as federal officers wearing gas masks and helmets fired tear gas into a small crowd. Protesters responded by throwing rocks and shooting fireworks.

Demonstrations have become common in Minneapolis since Good was fatally shot on Jan. 7. Agents who have yanked people from their cars and homes have been confronted by angry bystanders demanding they leave.

“This is an impossible situation that our city is presently being put in and at the same time we are trying to find a way forward to keep people safe, to protect our neighbors, to maintain order,” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of three people who said they were questioned or detained in recent days. The lawsuit says two are Somali and one is Hispanic; all three are U.S. citizens. The lawsuit seeks an end to what the ACLU describes as a practice of racial profiling and warrantless arrests. The government did not immediately comment.

Homeland Security said in a statement that federal law enforcement officers on Wednesday stopped a driver from Venezuela who is in the U.S. illegally. The person drove off then crashed into a parked car before fleeing on foot, DHS said.

Officers caught up, then two other people arrived and the three started attacking the officer, according to DHS.

“Fearing for his life and safety as he was being ambushed by three individuals, the officer fired a defensive shot to defend his life,” DHS said. The confrontation took place about 4.5 miles (7.2 kilometers) from where Good was killed.

Police chief Brian O’Hara said the man who was shot did not have a life-threatening injury. O’Hara's account of what happened largely echoed that of Homeland Security, which later said the other two men were also in the U.S. illegally from Venezuela.

The FBI said several government vehicles were damaged and property inside was stolen when agents responded to the shooting. Photos show broken windows and insults made with paint. A reward of up to $100,000 is being offered for information. The FBI’s Minneapolis office did not immediately reply to messages seeking more details.

St. Paul Public Schools, with more than 30,000 students, said it would begin offering an online learning option for students who do not feel comfortable coming to school. Schools will be closed next week until Thursday to prepare for those accommodations.

Minneapolis Public Schools, which has a similar enrollment, is also offering temporary remote learning. The University of Minnesota will start a new term next week with different options depending on the class.

Madhani reported from Washington, D.C. Associated Press reporters Sophia Tareen in Chicago; Bill Barrow in Atlanta; Rebecca Santana in Washington; and Ed White in Detroit contributed.

Federal immigration officers confront protesters outside Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Law enforcement officers at the scene of a reported shooting Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

A woman covers her face from tear gas as federal immigration officers confront protesters outside Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

A protester throws back a tear gas canister during a protest after a shooting on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Federal immigration officers confront protesters outside Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

Minneapolis City Council Member Jason Chavez, second from left, blows a whistle with other activists to warn people of federal immigration officers Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Tear gas surrounds federal law enforcement officers as they leave a scene after a shooting on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

A child and family are escorted away after federal law enforcement deployed tear gas in a neighborhood during protests on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

A protester holds an umbrella as sparks fly from a flash bang deployed by law enforcement on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

Monica Travis shares an embrace while visiting a makeshift memorial for Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer last week, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

A protester yells in front of law enforcement after a shooting on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Tear gas surrounds federal law enforcement officers as they leave a scene after a shooting on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Protesters shout at law enforcement officers after a shooting on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Law enforcement officers stand amid tear gas at the scene of a reported shooting Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)