India shares flood warning with Pakistan on ‘humanitarian grounds’

India shared a warning on possible cross-border flooding with neighbour Pakistan on “humanitarian grounds” and not under the water-sharing Indus Waters Treaty between the old enemies, an Indian government source told Reuters on Monday (August 25).India’s high commission in Islamabad shared the warning on Sunday (August 24), the source said, following heavy rains in the Jammu and Kashmir region bordering Pakistan.

India’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The source declined to be named as they are not authorised to speak to the media.

India put the Indus treaty in “abeyance” in April after linking a deadly attack on Hindu tourists in Kashmir to Pakistan. The tensions escalated in May to the worst military clash between the nuclear-armed rivals in decades.Read more: India, China will need to tide over these hurdles as two Asian neighbours look to smoothen ties

Under the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty, three rivers that flow westwards from India were awarded to Pakistan, with India getting three eastern-flowing rivers. Pakistan fears India could choke its main water supply, putting at risk most of its agriculture and hydro-power.

Floods in Jammu and Kashmir killed at least 60 people this month.