Torrential rains kill 17 people in Pakistan in 24 hours
Peshawar, Aug 25: At least 17 people including three children were killed and 50 others injured in northwest Pakistan in the last 24 hours as torrential rains and windstorms battered parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, officials said on Monday. The deaths come as Pakistan reels from earlier monsoon spells between June 26 and August 20, which left more than 788 dead and 1,018 injured as of Saturday. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was the worst-hit province. Heavy rains accompanied by strong winds hit Dera Ismail Khan district and adjoining areas early Sunday, leaving thirteen people dead and over 50 hurt in various incidents, mainly roof collapses, Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) spokesperson Bilal Faizi said. (PTI)
India alerts Pakistan about potential flood: Foreign Office
Islamabad, Aug 25: Anti-immigrant and anti-rIndia alerted Pakistan about a potential flood, the Foreign Office said on Monday, but stressed that the warning was communicated through diplomatic channels rather than the Indus Waters Commission. It is the first known official contact between India and Pakistan since a four-day conflict between the two sides in May. “On August 24, 2025, India communicated flood warnings through diplomatic channels, rather than through the Indus Waters Commission as required under the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT),” Foreign Office Spokesperson Shahfqat Ali Khan said. He reaffirmed that India is obligated to fully comply with all provisions of the Treaty. In New Delhi, sources said that India shared the flood alert in the Tawi River with Pakistan on “humanitarian grounds.” (PTI)
‘India’s new laser weapon a significant advancement’
Beijing, Aug 25: India’s successful test of the Integrated Air Defence Weapon System (IADWS), especially the high-power laser-based Directed Energy Weapon (DEW), drew praise from a Chinese military expert who said it should be considered a “significant advancement”. The IADWS is a multi-layered air defence system consisting of indigenous quick reaction surface-to-air missiles (QRSAM), very short-range air defence system (VSHORADS) missiles and a high-power laser-based directed-energy weapons (DEW) system. The indigenous air defence system was flight-tested off the coast of Odisha on Saturday. The IADWS, especially the DEW, which is possessed by a few countries like the US, Russia, China, the UK, Germany and Israel, drew the attention of Chinese experts. The Indian IADWS is an air defence system designed to counter low and mid-altitude targets such as drones, cruise missiles, helicopters and low-flying aircraft, with a limited strike range, Wang Ya’nan, chief editor of Beijing-based Aerospace Knowledge magazine, told China’s state-run Global Times. The key to such an integrated air defence system lies in having a highly effective information system capable of distributing target data to corresponding weapon components, or the system would merely consist of separate air defence weapons operating independently, the Chinese expert said. (PTI)