Environment

Iran's deep wells illegally siphon water from three Afghan rivers

By Ali

Farah River is seem in this photo taken June 4 in Parchaman District, Farah Province. The river originates in the eastern part of Ghor Province and flows for 560km to the Helmand swamps on the Afghanistan-Iran border. [207th Zafar Corps]

Farah River is seem in this photo taken June 4 in Parchaman District, Farah Province. The river originates in the eastern part of Ghor Province and flows for 560km to the Helmand swamps on the Afghanistan-Iran border. [207th Zafar Corps]

KABUL -- Authorities in the western region of Afghanistan have accused the Iranian regime of illegally digging wells along the Helmand, Farah Rud and Harirud rivers in violation of the 1973 Afghan-Iranian Helmand River Water Treaty.

Iran siphons thousands of cubic metres of water daily in excess of the terms of the treaty, which entitles Iran to 26 cubic metres of water per second, officials say.

The Iranian regime each year draws millions of cubic metres of water from deep wells it has dug in the Helmand River basin and stores it in reservoirs, said Niamatullah Sediqi, a member of the Nimroz provincial council.

"The government of Iran has connected the reservoirs with agricultural lands through pipelines, providing irrigation water for large fields that earn [big] annual revenues," he said.

"Using heavy-duty water pumps, they push water from the Helmand River more than 200km to reach Zahedan in Iran, where this water satisfies the city's needs," he said.

The Iranian regime has been digging deep wells for years near the border between the two countries and mercilessly draws water from Harirud River, a high-ranking Afghan government official in Herat said on the condition of anonymity.

"There are hundreds of hectares of agricultural land, especially melon and watermelon fields, in Mashhad Province [of Iran] that are irrigated with water from the deep well dug in the Harirud Basin," he said.

The Iranian regime also dug a deep well on the other side of the border along Farah Rud River and pumps the water through a pipeline system to a number of Iranian cities for agriculture and drinking water, said Dadullah Qani, chairman of the Farah provincial council.

"The government of Iran has always mistreated its neighbours and disregarded their rights by violating common treaties," he said.

Afghanistan will gain the upper hand on Iran once it is able to manage its water resources, as water rights issues have had a direct impact on relations between the two countries for years, said Qani.

Interfering in Afghanistan's water affairs

Iranian officials themselves have acknowledged the existence of deep wells and large reservoirs along the border between the two countries.

Common hamuns -- traditional seasonal reservoirs -- in the Helmand Basin are drying up, which necessitates an assessment to determine whether it is due to water dams in Afghanistan or reservoirs in Iran, Abbas Araghchi, Iranian deputy foreign minister for political affairs, said in an interview with TOLOnews on July 19.

"Annually, millions of cubic metres of additional water flows to Iran, and the country uses it for free, but they don't have the right to dig wells and empty the river basin," said Naqibullah Azimi, a legal scholar in Nimroz Province.

Afghanistan has the right to control its water resources and ensure that its vast lands are cultivated, he said. Each country constructs dams for the prosperity of its citizens and manages its own water resources.

Any involvement by the Iranian regime to disrupt the construction of dams in Afghanistan is regarded as interference in the internal matters of the country, he said.

Afghanistan has the right to construct hydroelectricity dams, and no country has the right to interfere, he said, referring to to Tehran's support of the Taliban's destruction of dams and other related infrastructure.

The issue requires an investigation by international organisations, he said.

"According to international laws, Iran doesn't have the right to express even an opinion with regards to Afghanistan's dams, let alone interfering with these dams and supporting armed group to destroy them," he said.

"The Afghan government must do everything to stop Iran from interfering in Afghanistan's water affairs," Azimi said.

Iran must pay for additional water

If Iran wants to have access to more water than what it is entitled to according to the Helmand River Water Treaty, Tehran needs to buy it from Afghanistan, said Gul Ahmad Ahmadi, deputy head of the Nimroz provincial council.

"The government of Iran has dug five deep wells near Afghanistan's border in the Helmand River basin," he said. "Each of these wells are like lakes that have drawn millions of cubic metres of water for agriculture and drinking."

"Iran has used Afghanistan's water for free for tens of years, and they should no longer expect it for free," he said.

Tehran has not compensated Afghanistan for its water, but from now on it has to pay Afghanistan for each cubic metre of water it consumes, Ahmadi said.

"Iran strongly opposes the construction of the Kamal Khan Dam because the country is afraid that if they receive water as per the treaty, they will lose their agricultural productivity and will only have water to drink," he said.

"The Afghan government should take seriously the management of its water resources and try to finish work on the few dams in the western region as soon as possible so that water doesn't freely flow outside the country," said Bahram Haqmal, a civil society activist in Nimroz Province.

"The construction of dams helps improve the agriculture of Afghanistan, reduces the Afghans' reliance on imports from neighbouring countries and creates an opportunity for a stronger economy," he said.

Do you like this article?

7 Comment

Comment Policy * Denotes required field 1500 / 1500

According to the agreement, the work of the dug wells is illegal and the water is to be used in exchange for oil, but since 1957, no one has paid. If they do not accept the words of the king of that time and the agreement between Afghanistan and Iran, the agreement to supply water to Iran is canceled and it should be renewed with a new contract and new agreements according to this era and based on the dollar and water's prices.

Reply

Wrong information representation will hold the Iran regime's activities in using deep water! Unfortunately, the regime is preparing the staffs for using deep water extraction from 3000 meters deep and 87 Degree. Where there is not any activities for water conservation.

Reply

Afghanistan has a prior right on waters that originate from inside the country. More dams are needed, particularly in the relatively flat and spacious western and southern provinces, that hold the potential of overcoming the country's food insecurity and at the same time providing much needed employment opportunities. The Afghan government needs to draw up comprehensive plans for at least 10 large dams and numerous smaller ones and then seek financial investment from local businessmen and from international organizations as well as friendly countries. For this to happen corruption within the government and its agencies will have to be tackled so that the trust deficit is removed. Afghanistan's water resources and its wide, barren lands are the country's foremost vital assets, that when enhanced, will open numerous avenues of progress in other economic fields and areas.

Reply

If Afghanistan's water is prevented from flowing into Iran, all of Iran's agricultural lands will dry up and thousands of hectares of Afghan land will be irrigated, and Afghanistan will get rid of the needs of the countries of the region and the people's economy will improve. The United States and the international community must work that peace is made with Taliban and establish a strong central government here that can have domination over the country’s water and soil and which can control its water. This is the best way to weaken Iran. If Afghanistan's economy improves and poverty is eradicated, the Afghan government will be able to control its own water. Now the poor government can do nothing. Every day, Pakistan launches missiles on Afghanistan’s soil, and this weak government is just sitting quietly and watching it. The cause of Pakistan's war with Afghanistan is Afghanistan's water. They fear that if there is a strong government in Afghanistan, it will immediately control the water of the Kunar River which will be to the detriment of Pakistan. Afghanistan must have a strong government in order to be able to defend its resources and territory.

Reply

Iran interferes in Afghanistan and this will be a threat to the region and to the world.

Reply

Dear brothers, demonstrations are going on in Ghazni City right now. People want the government to dismiss the insiders or mercenaries of Iran who have monopolized the government departments for the past 19 years and looted billions of Afghani from the ordinary and developmental budgets, and instead, it should hire people from all ethnic groups in government departments.

Reply

It is said that there were two women. One of them had one child and the other had three children. The three children were making noise. Mother of the one child got angry and said why children of the other woman are making noise, they are like pups and this and that' meaning that she said bad words. The three children's mother (first woman) started quarrel with the mother of one child (second woman): First woman: do you have pussy? Second woman: yes. First woman: your husband has dick? Second woman: yes. First woman: when both of you have it, you should give birth to more children so that your inferiority complex comes to an end. I cannot shut up mouths of my children. The point is that, Americans are shouting and saying we spent $100 billion and $200 billion in Afghanistan, if so, they could spend it on stuff which could cause benefits to Afghans. It is still not late, they may spend only $1 billion to control Afghanistan's water, no water will go to the Iranian terrorists, they may spend $1 billion more, and the water will stop for the Pakistani terrorists. With this, on one side, Afghans will get work opportunities, and on the other side, Americans will get rid of the issue, because Afghans defeated the Soviet Union, former enemy of Americans; however, Americans did not give any compensation to Afghans. Another point is that Americans caused a lot of self and financial losses to Afghans during the last twenty years and even now tens of Afghans are killed every da

Reply