Afghanistan and Iran Foreign minsters on Thursday discussed over the phone the long-running water dispute, according to the Afghan Foreign Ministry.
During the conversation between the Taliban administration’s acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amirabdollahian discussed various issues, the ministry said.
“During this phone call, the foreign ministers of the two countries discussed and exchanged views on issues of interest between the two countries and on the expansion of cooperation in various fields, especially trade, electric energy, railways,” Hafiz Zia Ahmad, the deputy spokesman of the Afghan Foreign Ministry, tweeted.
Ahmad added that Muttaqi described the problems of water scarcity and a decrease in rainfall in the western regions of the country, stressing his country’s official position under the existing bilateral agreement.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Tasnim news agency has published a video in which Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said during his visit to Sistan and Baluchistan that the rulers of Afghanistan should give the people of Sistan and Baluchistan the water they are entitled to.
Raisi says: “I warn the rulers of Afghanistan to give the people of Sistan and Baluchistan the right to water. If our experts confirm the lack of water, we have nothing to say, and if not, we will not allow the rights of our people to be violated.”
He goes on to say: “Take my words seriously so you don’t complain later.”
Meanwhile, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said Amirabdollahian urged his Afghan counterpart to release the water and facilitate a visit by a joint technical team to the Kajaki Dam in southern Afghanistan.
“He emphasized the strict & complete implementation of the clauses envisioned in the 1351 (1973) treaty regarding Helmand, including the possibility of a joint technical committee between the 2 countries visiting the water situation on the Afghan side & called it very important for Iran,” the Iranian Foreign Ministry tweeted.
The latest development came after Iranian lawmakers called on the government of President Ebrahim Raisi to take up the matter with the Taliban administration in Kabul.
