Lightning, rains kill 36 people in Pakistan

Lightning and heavy rains have killed at least 36 people, mostly farmers, across Pakistan in the past three days, officials said Monday, as authorities in the country's southwest declared a state of emergency.

Most of the deaths occurred when lightning struck farmers harvesting wheat and rains caused houses to collapse in eastern Punjab province, said Arfan Kathia, a spokesman for the provincial disaster management authority. He said more rains were expected this week, reports AP.

Rains, which also lashed the capital Islamabad, killed seven people in southwestern Baluchistan province over the weekend, and eight others died in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan. Authorities in Baluchistan declared a state of emergency.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said in televised remarks that he had ordered authorities to provide relief aid in regions hit by rains. Pakistan's water reservoirs would improve because of the rains, he said, while expressing concern over the deaths and damage.