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WAZIRABAD, Pakistan: Farmers in Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province said Friday they had lost everything in sudden floods, from fields of rice and corn to the livestock they depended on, leaving them in despair and with no clear path ahead.

The floods began Monday when heavy rains triggered sudden water releases from Indian dams on the Sutlej, Chenab and Ravi rivers, making it the worst deluge for the region in about four decades. Nearly 300,000 people have since been evacuated, more than one million have been affected and at least 20 people have died in Punjab this week, according to officials statistics.

“Suddenly, so much water came with a great speed that we have never seen in our lives,” Asadullah Rizwan, a farmer in Wazirabad city, told Arab News. “We got the warning late, and our livestock was swept away. Everyone lost 10, 15, 20 animals.”

Rizwan said his entire year’s harvest had been destroyed.

“I cultivated rice on 117 acres and corn on 20 acres, but it’s all finished,” he said. “This is Allah’s will regarding what will happen.”

Others spoke of the same despair.

“Some of the buffalo are gone, and one of our cows has also been swept away,” Furqan Ahmed, another farmer, said. “People also drowned here. In Naeem colony, a woman drowned while trying to save her child. Rescue did not arrive on time.”

Farmers said disputes had already broken out over the few surviving animals since there was no way to prove ownership and no one knew which animal belonged to whom.

Local officials in Wazirabad said a large number of animals had been taken to shelters and would eventually be returned once the waters recede.

“The district government will start a mechanism for missing animals,” Veterinary Officer Dr. Hasan Munir told Arab News. “Any rescued animals will be kept at camp offices, given fodder, and then returned to their owners.”

Annual monsoon rains are crucial for Pakistan’s agriculture and water supply but in recent years have also unleashed devastation, intensified by shifting climate patterns.

The NDMA said in its latest situation report on Friday, 337 rescue operations had been carried out in Punjab in the last 24 hours, moving nearly 247,000 people to safety.

The agency has warned the rains could last until at least Sept. 10 and may rival the catastrophic floods of 2022, which killed more than 1,700 people and caused more than $30 billion in damage.

The government has sought to make urgent investments in climate adaptation amid fears that farmers will continue to bear the brunt of erratic weather patterns as their livelihoods are washed away year after year.

ISLAMABAD: Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Friday announced Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) would launch three to four weekly flights to Manchester in the United Kingdom, saying the revival of the national carrier had been among the government’s top priorities.

Britain removed Pakistan from its Air Safety List earlier this year, clearing the way for Pakistani carriers to seek permits to operate in the UK.

Pakistani airlines were barred from flying to Europe and Britain after a 2020 PIA Airbus A320 crash in Karachi killed nearly 100 people and led to controversial claims about widespread irregularities in pilot licensing.

European regulators lifted their suspension last November after due diligence, enabling PIA to resume operations to Paris in January.

“As you know, just a few months ago, by the grace of God, the UK ... lifted its ban [on PIA flights],” Dar told reporters at a news conference.

“So, the final expected flights [to the UK] are due in the month of September,” he added. “They will start from Pakistan to Manchester, with three to four weekly flights. PIA is preparing for this.”

The deputy PM added flights to Britain would have resumed sooner had the UK still been bound by European Union aviation rules.

He said the government was encouraged by good feedback from the public, noting that at present only British Airways offers direct services, which were limited to Islamabad twice a week.

With more than 1.6 million people of Pakistani heritage living in the UK and thousands of British nationals residing in Pakistan, the Manchester route is expected to ease travel and stimulate bilateral trade.

Britain is Pakistan’s third-largest trading partner, with bilateral commerce worth £4.7 billion.

The new flights are likely to strengthen PIA’s balance sheet, potentially raising its value as the government pushes ahead with plans to privatize the loss-making airline.