WATER POLITICS

Commenting on the issues discussed with the Taliban delegation on the sidelines of a recent meeting of neighbors of Afghanistan, held in China’s Tunxi, Kazemi Qomi said the subject of Iran’s share of water from the Hirmand River has been mooted in the gathering.

He said the Taliban representatives have promised that they will put the subject of Iran’s share of water on the agenda of the ruling group upon their return to Kabul.

The Taliban have emphasized that the issues relating to the joint water resources must be settled according to the previously-signed treaty, the Iranian envoy added.

Iran and Afghanistan have a disagreement over allocation of water from the Hirmand River, as both sides suffer from droughts and climate change.

In a move in violation of a 1973 treaty with Iran, Afghanistan has refused to supply its neighbor with share of water from Hirmand, which rises in Afghanistan and flows through eastern parts of Iran, according to Iran’s Energy Ministry.

According to the treaty, Afghanistan is committed to share waters of the Hirmand River with Iran and supply it with 26 cubic meters of Hirmand water per second or 850 million cubic meters per annum.

The annual 850 million cubic meters of water for Iran has been initially allocated for drinking and irrigation of farmlands, which falls far short of the minimum flow required to feed Hamoon wetlands, which straddle Iran-Afghan common border and are fed by the Hirmand River.

In the last two decades, the fertile wetlands have substantially dried up. The Taliban government closed the sluices to the Kajaki dam on Hirmand until 2002. This compounded the impact of the worst drought the region has experienced in many decades, caused in part by climate change and warming temperatures.