Iranian delegation to visit Hirmand River to secure water rights
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In an interview, Hassan Kazemi-Qomi, Iran's envoy to Afghanistan, announced that an Iranian delegation was currently in Kabul to hold talks with Afghan authorities.
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The Helmand River in Helmand province, south of Kabul, Afghanistan on November 15, 2012. (AP)
According to Iran's special envoy for Afghanistan issues, a delegation of Iranian specialists will visit the Hirmand River and its sources in neighboring Afghanistan for the first time.
In an interview, Hassan Kazemi-Qomi announced the planned visit to the Deh Rawood water measurement station as the Islamic Republic's newest move to guarantee the country's share of water from Hirmand.
“Our delegation is currently in Kabul. The visit [to the water measuring station] will be made, and we will soon receive its report,” Qomi stated.
The Deh Rawood station is located upstream of the Kajaki Dam and measures the volume of water entering the river.
Iran and Afghanistan are at odds over the Hirmand water supply, which starts in the Hindu Kush Mountains west of Kabul and runs southwest until it empties into Iran's parched Sistan and Baluchestan Province's Hamoun marshes.
It is worth noting that Iran and Afghanistan signed a treaty to regulate each party's use of the river in 1973.
As per the treatment, Iran is to receive an annual share of 820 million cubic meters from Hirmand. Afghanistan's violation of this clause has exposed the lives of Iranians to the risk of drought, as civilians rely heavily on the river for drinking water, agriculture, and fishing.
The construction of many hydroelectric projects on the river, including the important Kamal Khan Dam in Afghanistan's Nimrouz Province, and the Kajaki Dam 100 miles (160 km) northwest of Kandahar province, has caused a major rift between them.
Iran is alleging that Afghanistan is obstructing the supply of water, but the Taliban government argues there is insufficient water to flow into Iran.
Iran has refuted the Afghan assertion by sharing satellite photographs showing water behind the Hirmand dams.
The Iranian envoy to Afganistan added that “According to the [1973 Helmand River] Treaty, we can verify the other side’s claim of water shortage.”
In June, the Taliban Minister of Energy and Water of Taliban, Abdul Latif Mansur, highlighted the need for talks to address the dispute with Iran over water rights.
