Flash floods leave 34 dead in Indian-controlled Kashmir as over 210,000 in Pakistan are displaced

NEW DELHI (AP) — Intense rains have left at least 34 people dead after lashing parts of Pakistan and India and triggering flash floods and landslides in Indian-controlled Kashmir, officials said Wednesday.

Over 210,000 people in Pakistan have been displaced, and the shrine of the founder of the Sikh religion has been submerged.

Heavy downpours and flash floods in the Himalayan region have killed nearly 100 people in August, with forecasters warning rain will continue across the region this week.

Part of a mountainside in Indian-controlled Kashmir's Jammu region collapsed onto a popular Hindu pilgrimage route following heavy rains in the Katra area late Tuesday. Devotees had been trekking to reach the hilltop temple, which is one of the most visited shrines in northern India, officials said.

The bodies of pilgrims were recovered from under the debris, according to disaster management official Mohammed Irshad, who said at least 18 other people were injured and transported to hospitals.

Rescue teams scoured the area Wednesday for the missing, while pilgrimages to the shrine have been suspended, Irshad said.

Authorities in Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province on Wednesday called for army assistance in rescue and relief efforts after torrential rains caused major rivers to swell, inundating villages and displacing over 210,000 people, according to Lt. Gen. Inam Haider, chairman of the National Disaster Management Authority.

Haider said rescue operations were continuing, with relief supplies being rushed to flood-hit areas.

Army spokesman Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif said two soldiers were killed while helping flood victims. He gave no further details.

Floods also submerged the shrine of Guru Nanak, the founder of the Sikh religion, which is located near the Indian border in Narowal district.

Late Wednesday, authorities carried out a controlled breach of a protective embankment on the Chenab river in Punjab to protect a barrage from collapse under extreme flood pressure. Local officials said explosives were used to open the right marginal dyke, diverting water into nearby villages, where hundreds of people sitting on higher grounds under the open sky and watching floodwaters submerge their homes.

Rescuers evacuated more than 20,000 people overnight from the outskirts of Lahore, Pakistan’s second-largest city, which faced the risk of flooding, as the Ravi river continued to rise. Those evacuated were living along the bed of the river, said Irfan Ali Kathia, director-general of the Punjab Disaster Management Authority.

Mass evacuations began earlier this week in six districts of Punjab after heavier-than-normal monsoon rains and the release of water from overflowing dams in neighboring India triggered flash floods in low-lying border regions, Kathia said.

Kathia warned floodwaters in the Ravi, Chenab and Sutlej rivers were rising dangerously and many villages were inundated in Kasur, Okara, Bahawalnagar, Bahawalpur, Vehari and Sialkot districts.

Rescuers with sniffer dogs continue to search for more than 150 people who have been reported missing this month after flooding killed over 300 residents in three villages in Pakistan's northwestern Buner district.

Floods have killed more than 800 people in Pakistan since late June.

Scientists say climate change is fueling heavier monsoon rains in South Asia, raising fears of a repeat of a 2022 weather disaster that struck a third of Pakistan and killed 1,739 people. Haider said next year’s monsoon could be 22% more intense due to climate change.

India alerted Pakistan on Monday about possible cross-border flooding due to the heavy monsoon rains, in what marked the first public official contact between the two nuclear-armed rivals in months.

Ahmed reported from Islamabad and Saaliq reported from New Delhi. Associated Press writer Babar Dogar contributed from Lahore, Pakistan.

Rescue workers evacuate villagers from a flooded area in Chango Walia village in Narowal district, Pakistan, Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

The Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, a shrine of Guru Nanak Dev, is submerged after torrential rains, in Kartarpur, in Narowal district, Pakistan, Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Jahan Zab)

A rescue worker helps villagers evacuated from a flooded area of Chango Walia village, in Narowal district, Pakistan, Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

Residents look at the remains of their houses, damaged by flash floods at the banks of Tawi river in Jammu, India, Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Channi Anand)

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)

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)

People looks at the damaged bridge over the swelling Tawi River in Jammu, India, Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Channi Anand)

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)

People stand next to a stuck car in the aftermath of flash floods at the banks of Tawi river in Jammu, India, Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Channi Anand)

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistanis faced record fuel price increases Friday, as petrol and diesel prices rose by up to 54% driven by the war in the Middle East that has caused global oil prices to surge.

The increase adds pressure to a cash-strapped nation already grappling with high inflation, as economists warned the hike would push up food prices and living costs.

Pakistan's Petroleum Minister Pervez Malik said late Thursday that the increase was “unavoidable.” He said the government was compelled to raise petrol prices by 137 rupees (49 cents) per liter, following a 20% increase last month.

Diesel prices were increased overnight by 184.49 rupees (67 cents) per liter, a rise of about 54.9%.

Malik said the adjustments were “necessary and unavoidable” in line with global market trends, adding that the government plans to subsidize fuel for motorcyclists, though a mechanism has yet to be finalized. Motorcycles overwhelmingly outnumber cars in Pakistan, accounting for nearly 78% of all vehicles on the road, as they are among the most affordable modes of commuting.

On Friday, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said public transport in Islamabad will be free for 30 days from Saturday on the prime minister’s instructions, and his ministry will cover the fuel costs.

Pakistan in recent weeks has used alternate routes to get oil due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

The unprecedented price increase came after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said regional instability had affected Pakistan’s fragile economy. He said the government was pursuing diplomatic efforts to ease tensions and encourage dialogue between the parties involved.

Pakistan has offered to host peace talks, though no dates have been announced for any such meetings in Islamabad.

However, for many citizens, the impact of the ongoing tensions and recent fuel price increases was immediate, with households and commuters bracing for higher transportation and daily living costs.

“It’s not just gas,” said Mohammad Zain Alvi, a commuter waiting for a bus in Islamabad. “Life was already very difficult for us, and now everything will become more expensive.”

Across major cities Friday, fuel stations were unusually quiet and traffic noticeably lighter as many people stayed home, unable or unwilling to bear the higher costs. At some stations, customers stood in silence after hearing the new rates.

“We have nothing to do with the war,” said Azhar Ali, a junior government employee who uses an old motorcycle to commute from Rawalpindi to Islamabad. “Why are we being made to pay for it? This will affect everything — transport, food, our entire lives.”

In the northwestern city of Peshawar, motorcycle rider Sher Khan said he was uncertain how he would continue working after the spike in fuel prices. He delivers food in the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

“I earn so little for each ride, and now most of it will go into fuel,” he told The Associated Press.

Jabran Sarfraz, a prominent economist in Karachi, said the immediate burden would fall on consumers, warning that higher fuel prices would raise the cost of daily necessities and disproportionately affect lower-income groups. He said the duration of the impact would depend on how quickly global prices ease.

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Khan reported from Peshawar, Pakistan.

Motorcyclists crowd into a filling station as they wait their turn to buy fuel, in Karachi, Pakistan, Thursday, April 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Ali Raza)

Motorcyclists crowd into a filling station as they wait their turn to buy fuel, in Karachi, Pakistan, Thursday, April 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Ali Raza)

A motorcyclist looks at the display at a fuel station as he buys fuel after the government increased fuel prices amid surging global oil prices due to the Iran war, in Peshawar, Pakistan, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Muhammad Sajjad)

A motorcyclist buys fuel after the government increased fuel prices amid surging global oil prices due to the Iran war, in Peshawar, Pakistan, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Muhammad Sajjad)

A worker fills fuel into a motorbike after the government increased fuel prices amid surging global oil prices due to the Iran war, in Peshawar, Pakistan, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Muhammad Sajjad)