Floods affect 1.2 million and displace nearly 250,000 in eastern Pakistan

The Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, a shrine of Guru Nanak Dev, is submerged after torrential rains, in Kartarpur, in Narowal district, Pakistan (Jahan Zab/AP)

Rescuers in boats are racing to reach stranded families in Pakistan’s populous eastern Punjab province, after three major rivers burst their banks because of heavy rain and the release of water from overflowing dams in neighbouring India.

The floods displaced nearly 250,000 people and officials said more than one million people were affected, with crops and businesses destroyed and many unable to leave their homes.