After India, Afghanistan mulls restricting water flow to Pakistan; directs construction of dams
This public assertion about the "right to water" came just weeks after Afghanistan and Pakistan fought a war that left hundreds dead.
PTC News Desk: Taliban-ruled Afghanistan is planning to build dams and subsequently restrict water to Pakistan, according to Afghan Information Ministry. The order came from Supreme Leader Mawlawi Hibatullah Akhundzada, the ruling Taliban's acting Water Minister said on X.
In his post, the minister, Mullah Abdul Latif Mansoor, said, "Afghans have the right to manage their own water" and that construction would be led by domestic firms rather than foreign.
This public assertion about the "right to water" came just weeks after Afghanistan and Pakistan fought a war that left hundreds dead.
Taliban's decision to restrict water flow into Pakistan echoes similar stance as that of India following Pahalgam massacre in April 2022. In response to which, India suspended Indus Water Treaty- a 65-year-old agreement between both the nations that facilitates sharing of water of the Indus and its tributaries.
The 480-kilometre-long Kunar River originates in the Hindu Kush mountains of northeastern Afghanistan, near the Broghil Pass close to the Pakistan border. Flowing south through the provinces of Kunar and Nangarhar, it enters Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where it merges with the Kabul River near Jalalabad. In Pakistan, the Kunar is known as the Chitral River.
The Kabul River, which receives the Kunar’s waters, is the largest and most significant transboundary river shared by Afghanistan and Pakistan. It joins the Indus River near Attock and plays a vital role in meeting Pakistan’s irrigation and water demands, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Any reduction in the Kunar’s water flow would directly affect the Kabul and, consequently, the Indus River system—impacting Punjab’s water resources as well.
Afghanistan's assertion follows weeks of deadly clashes with Pakistan along the Durand line, its de-facto border with Pakistan, which however Kabul calls illegitimate.
Meanwhile Afghanistan and Pakistan share no formal water-sharing treaty. Islamabad has already multiple time raised alarms over Taliban's inclination towards Afghanistan's water sovereignty and warned that such unilateral actions could deeper regional water crisis deepening energy and food security challenges.