Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a visit to flood-hit Jammu and Kashmir
160 people have died in floods in Pakistan and the Sindh and Punjab regions are expected to face more fierce flooding in the days ahead, the Met department has warned. Large parts of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir have been ravaged by the flash floods triggered by heavy rain.
Prime Minister
Narendra Modi has reached out to his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif, offering assistance in flood relief operations in areas "across the Line of Control".
"While reviewing the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, I was informed that the damage to life and property is equally, if not more, severe in areas across the Line of Control as well... In this hour of need, I offer any assistance that you may need in the relief efforts that will be undertaken by the Government of Pakistan. Our resources are at your disposal wherever you need them," he said.
The PM had, earlier in the day, extended all help to Pakistan while on a visit to Jammu and Kashmir which is reeling under its worst flood in the last 60 years. "India will never hesitate from doing work of humanity," Mr Modi said.
Islamabad, in response, said it was "ready to help in whatever way possible to mitigate the suffering of the people affected by the floods", referring to Jammu and Kashmir.
Relations between the two neighbours have soured since India called off Foreign Secretary-level talks scheduled to held in Islamabad last month after Pakistan's ambassador met with Kashmiri separatist leaders days before officials were to meet.
Prime Minister Modi had later said that Islamabad made a "spectacle" of the tentative peace process which prompted Pakistan to say that it is "well within our right to meet Kashmiri leaders."
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