Amidst strained relations, India has warned Pakistan about potential cross-border flooding, marking the first known official contact between the two nuclear-armed rivals in months. The warning, conveyed through diplomatic channels, comes as both nations grapple with the devastating effects of heavy monsoon rains.

This communication is particularly noteworthy because New Delhi put a decades-old treaty with Islamabad on water access in "abeyance" in April after linking a deadly attack on Hindu tourists in Indian Kashmir to Pakistan. Islamabad has denied any involvement in the attack. Tensions further escalated in May, resulting in the worst military clash between the two countries in decades.

According to Pakistan's Foreign Ministry, New Delhi conveyed the flood alert through diplomatic channels instead of the Indus Waters Commission, the permanent mechanism established under the 1960 World Bank-brokered Indus Waters Treaty. An Indian government official, speaking anonymously, stated that the warning was shared on "humanitarian grounds" and not under the treaty. India's foreign ministry has not yet commented on the matter.

The Indus Waters Treaty, which India suspended following the April attack, governs the sharing of the Indus River system. Under the treaty, India controls the eastern rivers of the Ravi, Sutlej, and Beas, while Pakistan oversees the western rivers of the Jhelum, Chenab, and Indus, which flow through the disputed Kashmir region.

The flood alert from India to Pakistan arrives as monsoon rains continue to batter the region. Since June 26, floods triggered by the rains have killed nearly 800 people in Pakistan. Dozens more have died in flooding in Indian-administered Kashmir, a region divided between the two countries but claimed in its entirety by both.

Pakistani authorities have reportedly issued warnings for vulnerable areas following the alert received from India. The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) in Punjab has also issued a flood warning, directing district administrations to activate monitoring and early warning systems.

This communication represents the first known diplomatic-level contact since May, when India carried out missile strikes inside Pakistan in response to the April killing of 26 tourists in Kashmir. Pakistan responded with its own strikes, raising fears of a wider conflict before a ceasefire was reportedly brokered.

The sharing of flood information is typically conducted through the Indus Water Commissioners under the 1960 treaty. However, due to the suspension of the treaty by India, the communication was instead conveyed through diplomatic channels. Despite the strained relations and the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, this act of sharing information on potential flooding highlights the importance of humanitarian considerations and the need for communication during times of crisis.