Since the beginning of the current water year (started Sept. 22, 2020) Iran has not received its fair share of water from Hirmand (known as Helmand in Afghanistan) River as per an agreement it had signed with Afghanistan in 1973.
Qasem Taqizadeh Khamesi, a deputy energy minister, voiced the complaint at the 23rd meeting of the Joint Committee of Hirmand Water Commissioners held in Tehran on Wednesday, the Energy Ministry’s news portal reported.
“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 drought and security issues that are not justifiable,” he said.
Afghan officials, namely Naseer Ahmad Durrani, deputy minister for agriculture, irrigation and livestock, claim that they want to resolve the water share dispute with Iran, but some security issues are involved.
“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.
Water from Helmand River in principle need to be shared under the 1973 treaty, which assigned Iran 800 million cubic meters of water 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.
Referring to previous agreements between the two states that oblige Afghanistan to supply an undisclosed amount of water into the lagoons, Khamesi noted that Iran has been pushing Afghanistan to uphold the water rights of the imperiled wetlands located along Iran’s border with neighboring state, but “they do not keep their end of the bargain”.
Iran is suffering severe water shortages in southeastern regions bordering Afghanistan. A big part of the problem is linked directly the 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.
Dam Construction
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 regions, turning the 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 Nimrouz and Farah provinces.
The river is a potential point of conflict over scarce water resources between the two countries.
Khan Mohammad Takal, Afghanistan’s deputy minister of water, said last year that his government would be committed to fulfilling its obligations over sharing the water from the Hirmand River and its tributary with Iran, but in practice thing are happening the other way round.
Hirmand River has a long history of agreements and conflicts. During 1969-73, Iran was involved in intense negotiations with the Afghans to find a solution to the Helmand problem.
Based on international water laws, Afghanistan should not deprive Iranian wetlands of water as it is a vital resource for the local population, including the residents of provincial capital, Zahedan.
