Defence Day was celebrated with zeal on Tuesday in the country to pay tribute to the martyrs of the armed forces and others, who sacrificed their lives in the war with India on Sept 6, 1965.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in a statement said the best tribute to the sacrifices of martyrs was to rebuild Pakistan in line with the vision of the founding fathers. He commended the role of the security forces in saving the lives of thousands of people during recent floods in Balochistan, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Southern Punjab.

Security forces killed terrorist commander Tufail during intelligence based operation in the general area of Mir Ali of the North Waziristan district, the Inter-Services Public Relations said in a statement. They recovered weapons and ammunition from the site.

The Pakistan Army has said that it was “aghast at the defamatory and uncalled for the statement” about its senior leadership by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan at a political rally in Faisalabad on Sunday.

President Arif Alvi has asked his party chief Imran Khan to explain the statement pertaining to the military, saying that the “whole army was patriotic”. Alvi told journalists in Peshawar that his job was to clear misunderstandings among stakeholders and bring them closer. He maintained that they give advice to Imran but it’s the latter’s choice to accept it or not.

The coalition government has strongly condemned “statements against the Pakistan Army”. In a statement, it stressed that they would not allow the “constitutional respect” of national institutions affected at all.

PTI’s Fawad Chaudhry has alleged that the government has no moral and political status. He claimed that the people hate the government.

PM Shehbaz Sharif has directed the authorities concerned to prepare a robust National Flood Control Plan after due diligence and consulting with international experts in the field.

Water level aggravates in Pakistan’s biggest lake, Manchar, despite a relief cut made by the Sindh government to divert the water’s course to save the maximum population. Authorities made another cut to the RD-52 in Sehwan.

At least 570 people have been killed since mid-June in Sindh due to floods, Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Memon said. He told reporters that more than 600,000 flood-hit people were living in relief camps.

Sindh Minister for Livestock Abdul Bari Pitafi said that 80,000 cattle have died during rain-triggered flash floods in the province, with losses estimated to be in excess of Rs27 billion.

President Arif Alvi has conferred the civil award of Hilal-e-Pakistan upon Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, in recognition of her outstanding services to Pakistan. The US has committed $30 million for urgently needed humanitarian assistance, she said.

The foreign affairs ministry has summoned the Indian charge d’affaires in Islamabad and registered a protest over the “extrajudicial killing” of a “mentally challenged” Pakistani national in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu Kashmir.

Liz Truss will replace Boris Johnson as Britain’s prime minister on Tuesday, travelling to see Queen Elizabeth in Scotland before appointing a new team of top cabinet ministers to tackle the economic crisis and draw her deeply divided party together.