ISLAMABAD(National times)- The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has forecast rain, windstorms, and thundershowers in parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Islamabad, Pothohar region, northeast Punjab, Kashmir, and Gilgit-Baltistan on Thursday. Isolated heavy falls and hailstorms may also occur in upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pothohar, Kashmir, and adjoining hilly areas. Hot and dry conditions are likely to prevail in other parts of the country. In Punjab, rain with wind and thunderstorms is expected in Murree, Galliyat, Rawalpindi, Jhelum, Attock, Chakwal, Khushab, Sargodha, Sialkot, Narowal, Lahore, Kasur, Hafizabad, Faisalabad, Mandi Bahauddin, Gujrat, Gujranwala, and surrounding districts. Similar weather is likely in several districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including Dir, Chitral, Swat, Kohistan, Shangla, Mansehra, Abbottabad, Haripur, Peshawar, Mardan, Swabi, and Waziristan. Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan are expected to remain partly cloudy with chances of rain and thunderstorms, while Sindh and Balochistan will mostly remain hot and dry, except for light rain or drizzle at isolated coastal areas of Sindh and partly cloudy conditions in southern Balochistan. During the last 24 hours, hot and dry weather prevailed over most parts of the country. Turbat remained the hottest places in the country on Wednesday with temperature surging up to 42 degrees Celsius.