According to the acting Afghan Minister of Energy and Water Resources, Abdul Latif Mansour, Afghanistan’s borders with Central Asian countries, which have been eroded, will be revised. “Due to floods, our borders with Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan were eroded. We are working to restore these borders and have already discussed this issue with our supreme leader,” Mansour said. However, it is still unclear whether the neighboring states have been notified.
Mansour stressed that the plan to revise the borders, developed on the instructions of the Islamic Emirati leader, Haibatullah Akhundzad, will be implemented jointly with the ministries of the Interior, Foreign Affairs, Defense, and the General Intelligence Directorate. Mansour did not disclose the details of the strategy, but the ministry spokesman assured those assembled that Afghanistan’s actions on water resources management will not harm neighboring countries.
It should be noted that the borders of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and partially Turkmenistan, along with Afghanistan, run along the Amu Darya River.
When the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan, construction of the Qosh-Tepa irrigation canal, which originates from the Amu Darya, began. Once completed, the canal will supply water to the agricultural northern provinces of Faryab and Balkh. Additionally, land for three projects will be allocated, including provisions for Jawzjan. These plans have raised concerns in neighboring Central Asian countries, especially Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, which depend on water from the Amu Darya. However, the Afghan authorities argue they have a legal right to their share of the river’s flow, which they have not yet utilized.
