'Baseless': India Thrashes Pakistan's Claim Of Upstream Intervention Causing Floods Near Chenab
'Baseless': India Thrashes Pakistan's Claim Of Upstream Intervention Causing Floods Near Chenab Published By, Last Updated: July 24, 2026, 18:46 IST Pakistan alleged that India
'Baseless': India Thrashes Pakistan's Claim Of Upstream Intervention Causing Floods Near Chenab Published By, Last Updated: July 24, 2026, 18:46 IST Pakistan alleged that India deliberately released water from the Chenab and withheld flood warnings, causing flooding downstream - claims India has strongly denied as baseless now. Rapid Read India has responded to the claims of Pakistan that the floods were caused by upstream intervention. (Image source: AFP) India has issued a sharp rebuttal to allegations from Pakistan that it is deliberately causing flooding, calling the claims “baseless", “misleading" and contrary to established facts. Officials said the recent rise in water levels in the Chenab River is the direct result of intense monsoon rainfall over Jammu and adjoining catchment areas between July 20 and 23, a statement from the Ministry of External Affairs said.
They stressed that the increase in flows is a natural hydrological response to heavy rain and not linked to any human intervention upstream. In a pointed response, India cited Pakistan’s own Flood Forecasting Division in Lahore, which, in an advisory issued on July 22, attributed the high flood levels in the Chenab to heavy rainfall in the upper catchment. The advisory also noted that water levels at Marala were expected to remain high for a period before gradually receding as rainfall activity declined. India said these official findings directly contradict the claims being circulated in sections of Pakistani media. It described attempts to portray a weather-driven flood event as a deliberate upstream action as “factually incorrect" and “technically untenable". Responding to allegations of withholding flood warnings, India said river flows during the period did not reach extraordinary discharge levels that would require the issuance of special alerts.
The observed flows, it said, were in line with normal monsoon patterns, a position also acknowledged by Pakistan’s own flood monitoring authorities. Officials said any suggestion that India withheld critical flood-related information is without basis and does not stand up to scrutiny. They added that such claims risk creating unnecessary alarm and misrepresenting the situation on the ground. India, however, reiterated that it will continue to share high-flood data with Pakistan on humanitarian grounds through established diplomatic channels, as and when the situation warrants, maintaining existing mechanisms of cooperation despite the current allegations. Pakistan had alleged that India was deliberately releasing or manipulating water flows in the Chenab River to trigger flooding downstream in Pakistan. The claims also suggested that India failed to provide timely flood warnings or withheld crucial data, thereby worsening the flood situation across affected regions in Pakistan.
The BriefWire