ISLAMABAD—Heavy flooding from seasonal rains in Afghanistan killed at least 31 people and left dozens missing over the past three days, while in neighboring Pakistan 13 people died due to heavy rains and landslides. Shafiullah Rahimi, the ruling Taliban’s appointed spokesman for Afghanistan’s State Ministry for Natural Disaster Management, said Sunday that at least 31…

LAHORE, Pakistan—A fire swept through a house in Pakistan’s eastern city of Lahore before dawn Wednesday, killing six children and four adults mostly of the same family, police and rescue officials said. Two women, two men, and six children between 6 and 16 years old lost their lives, deputy inspector-general of police in Lahore, Ali…

PESHAWAR, Pakistan—A Polish climber has died after scaling Pakistan’s Nanga Parbat, known as “killer mountain” for its dangerous conditions, local police and a mountaineering official said Tuesday. Pawel Tomasz Kopec had suffered breathing problems while descending the 8,126-meter (26,660-foot) mountain with two other climbers in harsh weather conditions, a local police official Zahid Hussain said….

ISLAMABAD—Lightning strikes across Pakistan’s eastern Punjab Province killed at least 10 people, officials said Monday as heavy pre-monsoon rains lashed the region. The strikes on Sunday mainly took place in the Sialkot and Sheikhupura districts of Punjab. Lightning strikes are frequent across Pakistan, especially in Punjab’s mountainous areas and plains. The Pakistan Meteorological Department said…

AHMEDABAD/MUMBAI—Four boys drowned in rough seas off the western Indian financial hub of Mumbai on Tuesday as India and Pakistan began evacuating people from coastal areas, two days before a cyclone is expected to make landfall. Classified as a very severe cyclonic storm, Biparjoy is expected to land around Thursday evening between Mandvi in India’s…

BENGALURU, India—India and Pakistan braced for the first severe cyclone this year expected to hit their coastal regions later this week, as authorities on Monday halted fishing activities, deployed rescue personnel, and announced evacuation plans for those at risk. From the Arabian Sea, Cyclone Biparjoy is aiming at Pakistan’s southern Sindh Province and the coastline…

Cash-strapped Pakistan has received its first cargo of discounted Russian crude oil, Pakistan’s leader said on June 11, as Pakistan seeks to forge ties with heavily sanctioned Russia amid its declining foreign reserves. Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the first shipment of Russian crude oil was set to be unloaded at Karachi port on…

The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) on Sunday urged Pakistan’s police to cease their “oppressive actions” against Afghan refugees after reports of the expulsion of Afghans from Pakistan. It came after the Afghan Embassy said on June 8 that Pakistani police had detained 250 Afghan nationals despite having travel documents. Some of them were…

PESHAWAR, Pakistan—Heavy rains swept through Pakistan’s northwest on Saturday, causing several houses to collapse and leaving at least 25 people dead and 145 injured, authorities said. Rains and hail hit the Bannu, Lakki Marwat, and Karak districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, senior rescue officer Khateer Ahmed said, uprooting trees and knocking down electrical transmission towers….

MIR ALI, Pakistan—A suicide car bomber targeted a security checkpoint in northwestern Pakistan on Wednesday, killing two soldiers, a policeman and a civilian, the military and security officials said. It was the second militant attack to hit Pakistan in as many days. The bombing happened in North Waziristan, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province that…