NextFin news, On August 17, 2025, in Afghanistan, the Taliban authorities pushed forward with large-scale water infrastructure projects aimed at asserting control over the country’s five major river basins, which flow into neighboring states. These projects, including the Qosh Tepa canal in northern Afghanistan, have raised regional disputes over water sharing amid a worsening drought and climate change impacts.
Afghanistan’s Qosh Tepa canal project, designed to divert up to 21 percent of the Amu Darya river’s flow to irrigate 560,000 hectares in the arid north, has alarmed Central Asian countries Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Kazakhstan. These nations fear the canal will reduce downstream water availability and exacerbate the shrinking of the Aral Sea, a critical ecological zone. Despite diplomatic engagement, concerns remain about the canal’s impact once operational. Taliban officials, including project manager Sayed Zabihullah Miri, have denied significant negative effects on river flow, emphasizing the project’s role in improving Afghanistan’s food security in a climate-vulnerable agricultural sector.
To the west, Afghanistan shares the Helmand River with Iran under a 1973 treaty that has never been fully implemented. Iran has repeatedly accused Afghanistan of restricting water flow through new dams, especially during drought periods. The Taliban government counters that climate change has reduced water availability and that Afghanistan has historically not received its fair share of the river’s resources. Additionally, the Harirud River basin, shared by Afghanistan, Iran, and Turkmenistan, lacks formal water-sharing agreements. Afghanistan’s recent inauguration of the Pashdan dam on the Harirud in August 2025 marks progress in infrastructure development, facilitated by reduced conflict and lower construction costs.
To the east, Afghanistan and Pakistan share the Kabul River basin, part of the larger Indus River system. Despite the basin’s importance to Kabul’s water supply, the two countries have no formal cooperation mechanism. The Taliban government is working on projects to alleviate Kabul’s severe water shortages, but the absence of bilateral agreements raises the risk of future tensions.
These developments occur amid a regional context of increasing water scarcity driven by climate change, with rising temperatures and altered precipitation patterns threatening glaciers and snowpack that feed the rivers. Afghanistan’s efforts to assert water sovereignty through dams and canals reflect a strategic push to address internal water crises but have sparked diplomatic challenges with downstream neighbors reliant on shared water resources.
Experts warn that without coordinated regional dialogue and agreements, Afghanistan’s water projects could lead to heightened disputes. The Taliban authorities remain largely isolated internationally since their 2021 takeover, with Russia as the only major country to officially recognize their government, complicating diplomatic efforts.
Sources: Kuwait Times (August 17, 2025), Daily Times (August 17, 2025), AFP reporting.
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