Heavy rains and flash floods, which started on June 14, have so far killed at least 159 people in Sindh. Low-lying areas have been flooded. It has also led to power breakdown in different areas. Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah arrived in Thatta, Sindh to review the situation after the floods.

Flash floods continued to pummel Balochistan as roads leading to Karachi, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were damaged. There was an impending food crisis after the closure of the Balochistan-Punjab highway. The death toll reached 207, showed the NDMA data issued on August 19.

Five people were washed away in flood waters in Chitral’s Shishi Koh Darvesh area. Rescue workers found four bodies. Moreover, orchards and farms were destroyed in Ghizer.

The protective dam was broken at Chenab River in Punjab’s Jalalpur Pirwala. Relief work was under way in Dera Ghazi Khan’s flooded areas.

The PTI would turn to the streets in Islamabad today (Saturday) in protest against the apparent torture of their party leader Shahbaz Gill in police custody. Party chief Imran Khan would lead the demonstration from zero point to F/9 Park in the federal capital. The capital city administration has enforced Section 144 (under which gathering of more than five people was banned) of the Criminal Procedure Code.

The medical board has decided to conduct an angiography of Gill, who was shifted to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims), Islamabad by police on court directives.

Police have started an investigation into accusations of apparent torture of the PTI leader. They have started recording police statements.

By-poll would begin in Karachi’s NA-245 on Sunday (tomorrow). The seat fell vacant after the death of Aamir Liaquat Hussain. The delivery of the goods would be completed today. A strong contest was expected between PTI and MQM-P.

Jamaat-e-Islami leader Hafeezur Rehman has slammed the government over Karachi’s “prevailing situation”. He claimed that funds allocated for the infrastructure were never invested in the city.

At least two people died due to the coronavirus over the last 24 hours, the National Institute of Health reported. Around 459 cases were reported.

French President Emmanuel Macron told his Russian counterpart on Friday that he is concerned about safety risks at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Ukraine, the Elysee said, adding that Putin had agreed to send a mission of experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to the site.