In a move that is set to escalate tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan, Taliban Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada has ordered immediate construction of dams on the Kunar River, according to Afghan Taliban Water
Minister Abdul Latif Mansoor. “Afghans have the right to manage their own water resources,” said Mansoor. Kunar is 480-km-long river originating from Pakistan’s Chitral area. It passes through Afghanistan’s Nangahar and Kunar provinces and ends in Pakistan’s Indus River. The Kabul and Kunar rivers, which flows into Pakistan from Afghanistan, is a huge source of water for Pakistan.
Decoding Afghanistan’s strategy
“Pakistan is using air power to attack our civilians and we see water as its only non-military weapon against Pakistan’s interference in its internal affairs. For decades, ISI has funded and armed ISIS factions to control Kabul’s. This blocking or diverting water gives Kabul strategic handle to counter Pakistan’s deep-state manipulation. Afghanistan is using sovereign rights over its own rivers like Helmand, Kabul, Kunar that originate in Afghan mountains but irrigate Pakistani farmland. Dams and reservoirs like Kamal Khan and Shahtoot are part of a broader plan to achieve hydro-economic independence,” said top sources.
“Our agenda is clear. We are securing water for Afghanagriculture and power before it flows into Pakistan. Pakistan’s recent mass deportation of Afghan refugees, closure of Torkham trade routes is one reason. Pakistan’s interference through Taliban splinter factions has provoked Kabul. Blocking water is seen as revenge for Pakistan’s economic and humanitarian pressure,” sources said.
“This is a major tension for us that Islamabad is treating our refugees in a bad way and making refugees return to extract political concessions,” they said.
According to sources, both Iran and China are quietly supporting Afghan control over rivers to weaken Pakistan’s agricultural base in southern Punjab and Balochistan.
When India said blood and water can’t flow together
On May 12, after the ‘Operation Sindoor’ retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said “blood and water cannot flow together”.
Reiterating it during the I-Day speech, Modi underscored India’s suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) with its firm stance against cross-border terrorism, stating that while India had paused military action, it would not continue business-as-usual with Pakistan, which he equated to a situation where both terror and peaceful water-sharing could not coexist.
Pakistan-Afghanistan tension
The fighting erupted after Pakistanreportedly launched cross-border airstrikes in Kabul on October 9, targeting Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) camps. Pakistan accused the Afghan Taliban of harbouring TTP militants, responsible for killing hundreds of Pakistani soldiers since 2021.
In response, Taliban mounted a major counteroffensive across the border, killing 58 Pakistani soldiers and destroying 20 security outposts over the weekend. Hostilities briefly paused on Sunday after mediation by Saudi Arabia and Qatar but resumed Tuesday night. Afghanistan and Pakistan agreed to an immediate ceasefire on October 19, Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said on Sunday.
Afghanistan on Wednesday announced it was ready to agree to a full ceasefire and resolve all issues through dialogue with Pakistan, in a bid to ease tensions between the two neighbours. According to a statement from Afghan authorities, the agreement includes a complete ceasefire, mutual respect, a ban on attacks against each other’s security forces, civilians, and infrastructure, and a commitment to settle all disputes through dialogue.
With Agency Inputs
