Taliban-ruled Afghanistan has announced plans to construct dams on the Kunar River, a move that could drastically reduce water flows to Pakistan, intensifying regional friction. The directive, issued by Supreme Leader Mawlawi Hibatullah Akhundzada, comes on the heels of deadly border clashes that claimed hundreds of lives and follows India’s recent suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan.

According to Deputy Minister of Information Muhajer Farahi, Akhundzada ordered the Ministry of Water and Energy to expedite dam construction and contract local Afghan firms, emphasizing national control over water resources. London-based Afghan journalist Sami Yousafzai noted on X, “After India, Afghanistan may now restrict Pakistan’s water supply,” highlighting the Taliban’s push for self-reliance amid strained relations with Islamabad.

The 480-km Kunar River, originating in the Hindu Kush near the Pakistan border, flows through Afghanistan’s Kunar and Nangarhar provinces before entering Pakistan as the Chitral River. It joins the Kabul River, a critical tributary of the Indus, near Jalalabad, supporting irrigation and water needs in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab provinces. Experts estimate that damming the Kunar could cut Kabul River flows by up to 17%, threatening Pakistan’s agriculture and exacerbating its water and energy crises.

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This development follows India’s decision to pause the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty after a terrorist attack in Pahalgam on April 22, 2025, killed 26 civilians, allegedly with Pakistan’s backing. The absence of a formal water-sharing agreement between Afghanistan and Pakistan amplifies fears of a looming regional water crisis, with Islamabad warning of severe consequences for its food and energy security.

The Taliban’s focus on water sovereignty, accelerated since their 2021 takeover, includes projects like the Qush Tepa Canal and the India-backed Salma Dam in Herat, completed in 2016 for $300 million, which irrigates 75,000 hectares and generates 42 MW of power. A 2021 MoU with India for the $250 million Shahtoot Dam on the Maidan River aims to supply water to two million Kabul residents and irrigate 4,000 hectares. These initiatives, discussed during Taliban Foreign Minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi’s recent visit to India, underscore Afghanistan’s strategic alignment with New Delhi.

As tensions simmer along the disputed Durand Line, the Kunar dam plan risks further destabilizing the region. With no bilateral water accord in place, calls for urgent multilateral negotiations grow louder to prevent a humanitarian and geopolitical crisis.

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