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India has opened the gates of the Salal Dam, resulting in the release of water into the Chenab River toward Pakistan. Authorities have issued alerts for low-lying areas amid concerns over a possible rise in water levels.

According to the Flood Forecasting Division, the released water is expected to enter Pakistan within the next 24 to 36 hours. Residents living along the banks of the Chenab River have been advised to take precautionary measures and avoid unnecessary movement.

Authorities have warned of the possibility of water entering low-lying areas of Sialkot, Narowal, and Gujranwala. Residents living along the Chenab River in Hafizabad, Chiniot, and Jhang have been directed to move to safer locations.

Nearby localities in Faisalabad and Toba Tek Singh may also be affected by flooding, while alerts have also been issued for low-lying villages in Multan and Muzaffargarh.

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Emergency measures have been imposed in all districts located along the Chenab River from Head Marala to Head Trimmu in view of the expected increase in water flow.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has announced its decision to launch a fresh public movement for the release of its founding chairman, Imran Khan. As part of the campaign, the party will hold a public gathering at the Imran Khan Cricket Stadium in Peshawar on August 5 and organize rallies across the country.

A consultative meeting of the PTI leadership was held at the Chief Minister’s House in Peshawar. The meeting was attended by PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, Central General Secretary Salman Akram Raja, Asad Qaiser, and other central and provincial party leaders.

Speaking to the media after the meeting, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar said the meeting focused on a one-point agenda of launching a movement for the release of the party’s founding chairman. He said that after consultations with allied parties, Chief Minister Sohail Afridi would announce the party’s future course of action during the August 5 gathering in Peshawar.

Barrister Gohar said the party’s founding chairman had been imprisoned unjustly and that PTI had pursued every legal and democratic avenue for his release. He added that peaceful protest is the party’s democratic and legal right.

Referring to the party’s previous protest, Barrister Gohar said PTI workers left Peshawar for Islamabad on November 24 and reached the capital on November 26, where, according to him, they were subjected to violence and firing. He claimed that party workers were killed and several others were injured. He further alleged that despite submitting requests to register cases over the violence against their peaceful protest, no FIRs were registered. He said the party later approached the courts for justice, but its petitions were dismissed without hearings or arguments from its lawyers.

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He termed the rejection of the petitions a denial of justice, saying that under the law, petitions should not be dismissed without hearing counsel. He added that the doors of justice should not be closed, warning that society suffers when access to justice is denied.

Barrister Gohar said August 5 would mark three years since the imprisonment of the PTI founding chairman. He said the party leadership had decided to launch a movement for his release, beginning with the public gathering in Peshawar.

Provincial Information Minister Shafi Jan said the meeting had decided to organize a large public gathering at the Imran Khan Cricket Stadium in Peshawar on August 5 to mark three years since Imran Khan’s arrest. He said PTI workers from across the country would participate in the event.

Shafi Jan also alleged that the party’s founding chairman had been denied even the basic rights available to prisoners and that his fundamental human rights had been violated. He claimed that the treatment being meted out to Imran Khan was equivalent to abduction rather than imprisonment, adding that he had been kept in solitary confinement for the past seven months and that meetings with him had been restricted.

He said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi would announce the party’s future strategy during the August 5 gathering.

Shafi Jan further said there was political tolerance in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and that while PTI was not allowed to conduct political activities in Punjab, every political party was free to hold political activities in the province. He also said that no damage would be caused to the Imran Khan Cricket Stadium during the event.