Video does not show Punjab govt carrying out explosions at Qadirabad Headworks to divert floodwater to Sindh

The iVerify Pakistan team investigated this content and determined that it is false.

To reach this conclusion, iVerify Pakistan conducted a keyword search and checked news reports to corroborate the alleged incident.

Posts from Indian users on social media platform X on August 27, 2025, shared a video of an explosion near the Qadirabad Headworks on the Chenab River in Punjab, claiming that the provincial government was attempting to divert the floodwater downstream towards Sindh. However, the explosion was actually an emergency breach carried out due to an extremely high flood.

Since June 26, monsoon rains have wreaked havoc across Pakistan, killing more than 800 people and leaving thousands injured. After Gilgit-Baltistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab is now under focus after floodwaters surged in the Sutlej, Chenab and Ravi rivers.

The government had called for the deployment of army units in eight districts of the province — Lahore, Kasur, Sialkot, Faisalabad, Narowal, Okara, Hafizabad and Sargodha — for rescue and relief operations.

HOW IT STARTED

On Aug 26, a post on X from an account, appearing to be Indian from previous posts, shared a video showing an explosion and huge plumes of smoke rising. People could also be seen running from the scene.

The caption said: “The Punjab government of Pakistan wants to drown Sindh, that’s why explosions are being carried out to divert water towards Sindh.”

The post did not mention any other details or provide any further context of the alleged incident, such as the date and location where it occurred. It gained 39,700 views.

Another Indian account on X shared the same video with the caption: “Pakistan government is blasting parts of the Indus river to divert water towards Sindh in order to protect Punjab.”

The post quickly gathered 83,200 views.

The claim was also shared by other X users as seen here and here.

Additionally, Indian news outlet Jagbani also ran a news report on the incident. The report said: “It is being claimed that the Pakistani government is trying to save West Punjab from the havoc of rain and floods. Therefore, an attempt is being made to divert its flow towards Sindh province by blasting the Indus River so that West Punjab can be saved from the floods.”

METHODOLOGY

A fact-check was initiated to determine the veracity of the claim due to its high virality, keen public interest in the matter and to address the potential harmful impact of such rumours.

A reverse image search showed that the video was shared by the official account of the Punjab Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) on X.

The caption said: “A severe flood of extremely high magnitude at the Chenab River Head Qadirabad, with water flow recorded at 935,000 cusecs. A breach was carried out on the right marginal embankment in an emergency.”

The same was also reported by credible news outlets such as Dawn, Samaa TV and Arab News. The reports quoted a PDMA statement, which said that an “extremely high flood” was recorded at Qadirabad Headworks.

“An emergency breach was carried out on the right marginal embankment to protect the headworks, which will help reduce pressure on the structure,” it added.

Separately, a report by international news agency AFP quoted Mazhar Hussain, a spokesperson of the Punjab PDMA, as saying that the right marginal embankment was breached to save the structure and reduce the flow of the water.

Federal Minister for Climate Change Senator Musadik Malik also spoke about the matter in an interview on Geo News show ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath’, saying that an assessment was carried out in Qadirabad, where engineers were present and conducted an analysis.

“Earlier in the morning, we made a breach at one point because it was extremely important. However, according to the engineers’ current assessment, there is no need to create another breach for now.

“Inside Qadirabad, the situation has slightly eased because rainfall in occupied Jammu and Kashmir, as well as in eastern Punjab and India, has decreased. As a result, the floodwaters that had to come have already passed. The new inflow of water has also reduced, which means the situation is not out of control, though it remains dangerous. If the water flow had continued to increase, the situation would have worsened further,” he said.

The Qadirabad barrage, where the explosion took place, is located at a distance of 658 kilometres from the border shared by Sindh and Punjab — a six- to eight-hour drive.

Furthermore, no concern of the sort about water being diverted towards Sindh was expressed by the province’s ruling party, the PPP, a coalition partner of the federal government which has previously not desisted from going against the stance of the PML-N and Centre when it comes to matters involving Sindh’s water.

FACT-CHECK STATUS: FALSE

The claim that a video shows the Punjab government carrying out explosions to divert water towards Sindh is false.

The explosion at Qadirabad Headworks was carried out to protect the structure and reduce water flow.