24 October,2025 08:54 PM IST | Kabul | mid-day online correspondent
Afghan refugees deported from Pakistan arrive with their belongings at the zero point border crossing between Afghanistan and Pakistan in Spin Boldak district of Kandahar province. PIC/AFP
Days after recent border clashes with Pakistan, Afghanistan's Taliban-led administration on Friday announced plans to construct dams over the Kunar River, a key waterway that flows into Pakistan's northwestern region, news agency ANI reported. The move is expected to reduce water flow into Pakistan.
In a post on X, Deputy Information and Culture Minister for Publication Muhajer Farahi said the order was issued by Taliban Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, directing authorities to start the project "as soon as possible" without waiting for foreign contractors.
"The Ministry of Water and Energy says that His Excellency the Amir al-Mu'minin [Hibatullah Akhundzada] has instructed them to begin construction of dams on the Kunar River as soon as possible and to sign contracts with domestic companies instead of waiting for foreign firms. Mullah Abdul Latif Mansoor said that Afghans have the right to manage their own water resources," Farahi stated.
The development comes days after intense border clashes between Afghanistan and Pakistan led to several casualties on both sides. A ceasefire was later brokered between the two neighbours in Doha with mediation from Qatar and Turkey.
"A round of negotiations between the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and Afghanistan was held in Doha, mediated by the State of Qatar and the Republic of Turkiye. During the negotiations, the two sides agreed to an immediate ceasefire and the establishment of mechanisms to consolidate lasting peace and stability between the two countries," Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, speaking on the ceasefire.
The Taliban government's decision follows New Delhi's April decision to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty, which governs the sharing of water from India's three western rivers with Pakistan, after the April 22 terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam, in which Pakistan-sponsored terrorists killed 26 civilians.
The Kunar River stretches around 480 kilometres, flowing through eastern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan. Fed by melting glaciers and snow from the Hindu Kush mountains, it forms part of the Indus (Sindh) river basin.
In April, Abdul Latif Mansoor, Afghanistan's acting minister of energy and water, told Tolo News that managing and using water resources is his country's sovereign right, responding to concerns raised by several countries over the construction of dams on the Kunar River.
(With ANI inputs)
