WATER POLITICS

Some farmers and residents of the province of Helmand urged the current government to avoid bringing up the topic of water rights with Iran at this time.

According to them, the whole country, especially Helmand, is facing a severe drought and giving water to the neighbors puts farmers in a very difficult situation.

The topic of negotiations between Iranian officials and the current Afghan government about Iran’s water rights from the Helmand River has come to be a heated topics in recent days.

“Despite the fact that Iran demands water from us, Helmand must have it first. We ask that they not be provided water because the crops, gardens, and wheat in Helmand are all thirsty,” said Abdul Rahman, a farmer.

“We want the water to be given to Helmand in the first place,” said Mohammad Sediq, another farmer.

Some water experts have varying opinions on Iran’s water rights from the Helmand River.

“It appears that Iran does not desire to get water in accordance with the Helmand treaty. As an alternative, they want unaccounted for water flow into their nation. Afghanistan hasn’t kept any water in storage since the start of this year, not even at the Kamal Khan dam. The water always goes downstream to Iran,” said Najibullah Sadeed, a water expert.

However, the department of Information and Culture of Helmand acknowledged the challenges caused by a lack of water in the province, but added that this year’s increase in the Helmand River’s water level will greatly alleviate water shortage issues.

“Farmers were facing the challenge of a water shortage, but the water level has increased due to the rain,” said Mohammad Qasim Riaz, deputy of the department of information and culture of Helmand.

This comes as the Iran Vice-President and Head of the Department of Environment Ali Salajegheh announced two days ago that he would lead a delegation to Afghanistan in one to two weeks to talk with officials in the country’s current government about the right ro water from the Helmand River.