Iran’s Water Rights from Helmand Held Hostage by Taliban
The director general of the office of border rivers and shared water resources at the Ministry of Energy said: “Despite statements by Afghan political officials and favorable promises from the Afghan commissioner regarding compliance with the 1351 Helmand treaty and delivery of Iran’s water rights, unfortunately in the current water year less than 4 million cubic meters of water from Iran’s 820 million cubic meter water rights stipulated in the treaty has entered the country.”
He emphasized: “The Iranian delegation, while making a strong protest against the statistics and figures presented by the Afghan side regarding the current water year situation and the amount of our country’s water rights, requested a visit and observation of the upstream measurement station of the Kajaki Dam based on the mechanism envisioned in the treaty between the two sides, but due to Afghan side’s objection, access to information or joint review was not provided.”
The twenty-fifth session of the joint committee of Helmand water commissioners was held in Tehran from June 15-17, 2022.
It is worth noting that Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, in an open session on Tuesday, April 9, 2023 of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, stating that the issue of water in the country and region is among “important priorities,” said: the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other relevant organizations in the Islamic Republic should help to “follow up on the problem and discussion of existing water rights.”
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic said in the same session: “We are not satisfied with the interim ruling authority of Afghanistan regarding Iran’s water rights.” According to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic, with the release of part of the water from the “Kamal Khan” dam of Afghanistan, “a small amount” of its water reached Iran, but “much sabotage” took place in that country, and when this dam “was full of water,” they did not release it and said that “it has not been dredged.”
Hassan Rouhani, Iran’s former president, also on July 25, 2021, simultaneously with increasing criticism from the people and experts on the performance of Islamic Republic officials over the past four decades in the field of water resources, without naming any specific country, criticized the actions of Iran’s neighbors in relation to rivers located in their territory and called on these countries to “observe justice in controlling river waters.”
Source: Voice of America
