Despite the claim of Afghan water officials, Iran has received less than 3 million cubic meters of water from Hirmand (known as Helmand in Afghanistan) River since the beginning of the current water year (Sept. 22, 2021), which is not acceptable.
Firouz Qasemzadeh, director general of the National Water Data, made the above complaint in the 25th meeting of the Joint Committee of Hirmand Water Commissioners held in Tehran last Friday, ILNA reported.
Afghan officials argued that based on the agreement Iran signed with Afghanistan in 1973, close to 30 mcm of water have been released since last September, he added, stressing that barely 3 mcm entered Iran during the period.
Qasemzadeh noted that the Taliban are blaming the drought in Afghanistan and the long distance that the water has to pass through before it reaches Iran, both of which are lame excuses.
As per the treaty, Iran should have received at least 500 million cubic meters of water by now, but it has not and Afghan officials blame not only drought but also security issues that are unjustifiable.
Afghan officials have noted that if their country was not been suffering from drought, they would have released more water, which explanation makes no sense to Iran.
According to Taliban Spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, Iran will receive its fair share from the river only if Afghanistan has enough water and as long as the latter is suffering from drought, the former will not receive enough water.
“Our country is under tremendous stress and Iran must understand,” he said.
However, Iran says linking the water issue with Afghanistan’s internal affairs is irrelevant and irrational.
Diplomatic Efforts
According to Qasemzadeh, such excuses are not justifiable, but Iran is still hopeful that diplomatic efforts would work.
“Given the fact that the Islamic Republic of Iran has generously helped the people of Afghanistan in several areas over the past 40 years, we expect the country to take Iran’s legitimate and legal demands into consideration,” he added.
Sistan-Baluchestan is the second largest province of Iran, bordering Afghanistan and Pakistan. The region has been struggling with severe water shortages for two decades, as rainfall averages a meager 105 mm.
More than 50% of the people of the province live in rural areas. But that is fast changing, as they are abandoning their homes and villages, and moving to other parts of the country in search of work and a better life.
Water from Helmand River should be shared under the 1973 treaty, which assigned Iran 800 million cubic meters a year. But with Afghanistan embroiled in foreign military invasions, domestic violence of terror syndicates, political infighting and civil strife for the past 40 years, the water supply has remained wildly erratic.
Following regular meetings in Tehran and Kabul since 2005 regarding Iran's water rights from the border river, the Afghan side agreed to pursue its water development projects on the shared basin in a way that will not harm Iran’s water share.
Nonetheless, the inauguration of Kamal Khan Dam on Helmand River in March has profoundly affected water supply to Iranian wetlands and aggravated environmental problems in east and southeastern Iran.
Severe Shortages
Iran is suffering severe water shortages in southeastern regions bordering Afghanistan. A big part of the problem is linked directly to Kabul’s breach of the 1973 agreement.
“The result has been that in the past two decades, the part of Hirmand River inside Iran is dry for almost 10 months a year,” he said.
Prior to the construction of dams on Helmand River, 9 billion cubic meters of water flowed annually into the Hamoun Wetlands in Iran’s Sistan-Baluchestan Province, which has now declined to 800 mcm.
Over 70% of Hamoun Wetlands are drying up, largely because of Afghanistan's controversial dam construction on its tributaries.
The wetlands are a vital resource for the local population, including residents in the provincial capital Zahedan.
By depriving Iran of its water rights from Hirmand, Kabul’s procrastination can make things worse for the already water-stressed region and turn wetlands into a desert, experts have warned. Informed sources have also warned that it is not in Kabul’s interest to let this crucial issue drag on for years.
Hirmand River — the longest waterway in Afghanistan — rises in the Hindu Kush mountains west of Kabul and empties into the Hamoun Wetlands that straddle the border between the two countries, seeping into the Iranian province of Sistan-Baluchestan and Afghanistan's Nimruz and Farah provinces.
The river is a potential point of conflict over scarce water resources between the two countries.
