After India, Afghanistan to restrict river water to Pakistan

Taliban-ruled Afghanistan has announced plans to construct dams and restrict the flow of Kunar river water to Pakistan, the Afghan Information Ministry said on Thursday. The directive to expedite dam construction on the River Kunar was issued by Taliban Supreme Leader Mawlawi Hibatullah Akhundzada, underscoring the regime’s growing emphasis on asserting control over transboundary water resources. According to the ministry, Akhundzada instructed the Ministry of Water and Energy to commence work on the project immediately and sign contracts with domestic firms. “The Supreme Leader has ordered the ministry to sign contracts with Afghan companies rather than wait for foreign firms,” Deputy Information Minister Muhajer Farahi posted on X. This public assertion about the "right to water" came just weeks after Afghanistan and Pakistan fought a war that left hundreds dead.

London-based Afghan journalist Sami Yousafzai said, "After India, it may now be Afghanistan's turn to restrict Pakistan's water supply...". The Supreme Leader, according to Sami Yousafzai, "ordered the [water and energy] ministry to sign contracts with domestic Afghan companies rather than wait for foreign firms"."The Kabul and Kunar rivers, which flows into Pakistan, have long been a source of water in Pakistan," Sami Yousafzai, posted on X.

Breaking News:
After India, it may now be Afghanistan’s turn to restrict Pakistan’s water supply.

Taliban Deputy Minister for Information, Mujahid Farahi, announced that the Ministry of Water and Energy has received instructions from the Taliban’s supreme leader, Shaikh… https://t.co/Q7XutRtC1A

— Sami Yousafzai سمیع یوسفزي (@SamiYousafzaii) October 23, 2025

The 480-km-long Kunar River originates in the Hindu Kush mountains near the Broghil Pass, close to the Pakistan border. It flows southward through Afghanistan’s Kunar and Nangarhar provinces before entering Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where it joins the Kabul River near Jalalabad. Known as the Chitral River in Pakistan, it plays a vital role in feeding the Kabul River, which in turn merges with the Indus near Attock. Any reduction in Kunar’s flow would therefore have a cascading impact on the Indus River system, threatening irrigation and water supply in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab provinces.

Since coming to power in 2021, the Taliban has prioritised asserting Afghanistan's water sovereignty. It has accelerated plans for dam construction and hydropower development to harness the country's river systems for energy generation, irrigation, and reduced dependence on neighbouring countries. Pakistan and Afghanistan have no formal bilateral water-sharing agreement in place. Islamabad has already raised alarms over the Taliban prioritising Afghanistan's water sovereignty. Islamabad had earlier warned that such unilateral actions could ignite a full-blown regional water crisis amid Pakistan's deepening energy and food security challenges.