• Water discharge worst example of India’s water aggression: minister.
• Ahsan Iqbal says India stores water and suddenly releases it.
• Decries India’s failure to timely share information with Pakistan.
  

Pakistan has assailed India for essentially “weaponising water”, with Planning and Development Minister Ahsan Iqbal saying that New Delhi abruptly and intentionally discharged the torrents from its dams.

“India has started using water as a weapon,” Iqbal said while speaking on Geo News‘ programme “Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath” as he reflected on the wide-scale flooding in Punjab, which has left vast swathes of land inundated due to the overflowing of Ravi, Sutlej and Chenab rivers.

With at least seven people losing their lives in Punjab’s Gujranwala Division due to flooding, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has advised Sindh’s Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) Sindh to initiate the evacuation of vulnerable communities residing along the katcha (riverine) areas and low-lying belts of the Indus River and its tributaries.

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz on Wednesday issued a series of directives to provincial and district authorities to accelerate relief and rehabilitation efforts in flood-affected areas.

The chief minister has ordered the field presence of commissioners and deputy commissioners, along with immediate documentation of damage caused to homes and crops.

She directed the district administrations to restrict people from entering flood zones.

Separately, speaking in a video statement while supervising rescue and relief efforts in Kartarpur, Iqbal termed the water discharge as a “worst example” of water aggression by India.

“India stores water on rivers and suddenly releases it,” the minister remarked, adding that New Delhi’s water aggression posed a threat to lives and properties.

“Some issues are beyond national disputes and political differences. Countries should put all differences aside and ensure cooperation on the issue of water resources.

India has also made natural disasters a source of politics. India did not share information with Pakistan in a timely manner,” he remarked, adding that New Delhi’s failure to do so was “extremely regrettable and inhumane”.

The minister’s remarks refer to the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) which binds both countries to share information with each other on water discharge. However, the treaty has been put in abeyance by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government in the aftermath of the Pahalgam attack in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) in April.

However, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in June, in a unanimous judgment binding on both countries, issued a Supplemental Award in the IWT case and stated that New Delhi could not unilaterally suspend the accord.

The arbitration court’s ruling confirmed that India’s unilateral actions could not undermine the jurisdiction of either the court of arbitration or the Neutral Expert in proceedings under the IWT.

Although India reached out to Pakistan to warn about a potential flood situation — due to water discharge — the move was carried out via diplomatic channels and not through the bilateral commission as required by the IWT.

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s wedding plans have been revealed.

On Wednesday, an insider revealed to Page Six that the pop sensation and the NFL star plan to have a “casual” and “private” ceremony with family and close friends when they eventually exchange vows.

“It will be more casual than people think,” the source told the outlet a day after the couple announced their engagement.

Taylor and Travis announced their engagement on Tuesday, August 26, via a joint Instagram post. 

“Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married,” the newly engaged couple penned alongside several photos showing Kansas City Chiefs star Travis proposing to Taylor.

Recently, Travis’ father, Ed, spilled shocking details about his son’s proposal to Taylor.

Speaking to News 5 Cleveland, Ed Kelce revealed that Travis’ proposal to the singer “didn’t go exactly as planned.”

He shared that the professional player wanted to make a proposal to Taylor a “big and special event.”

“He was going to put her off ’til this week, to, you know, make some grand thing, to make it a big special event,” said Ed.

A superhero film is commonly about good guys, but not Thunderbolts*. It features a band of characters that falls into what may be called ‘grey areas.’

Jake Schreier, director behind the Marvel movie, explained the complex characters in an interview with Empire.

“You’re talking about a group of characters that have done a lot of bad things, and maybe are struggling with feeling good about themselves,” the filmmaker said.

However, the director noted, “There’s an element that does speak to mental health, and loneliness.”

“And how some of the darkness that we experience in our lives can’t be necessarily fixed, but can only really be made lighter through connection and finding others,” he shared.

As far as lessons are concerned, Jake said he learned from filming Thunderbolts* that “there are so many things that I didn’t know about before I started the film.”

He continued, “The biggest learning curve for me was the proportion of the action to the more emotional, character-driven scenes.”

The filmmaker noted, “And how, even though it’s more shooting days than I’ve ever had, they get eaten up quite quickly by the action stuff.”

“By the time we got to the end of it, it felt like, ‘Oh, now I feel like we get how to do this a little bit better,” he shared.

“(On Thunderbolts*) we’re in the middle of nowhere in Utah, in a gorgeous location, owning a road, and filming in 100-degree heat,” Jake added. 

“Or finding yourself on the second-tallest building in the world. These are very special experiences,” the director concluded.

Thunderbolts* is streaming on Disney+.