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Water affairs board discusses Panjshir-Kabul water conduit project
The Islamic Emirate’s Water Affairs Regulatory Board convened a meeting Sunday to discuss the implementation of a water conduit project for the transfer of water from Panjshir River to Kabul.
The meeting was chaired by the administrative deputy prime minister and attended by representatives of the ministries of finance, water and energy, urban development and housing, agriculture and livestock, rural rehabilitation and development, the National Environmental Protection Agency and the state-owned water supply company.
In the meeting, there was a discussion about the regulation of water affairs, people’s access to clean drinking water, the implementation of the Panjshir to Kabul water conduit project, its duration, costs and water capacity.
“There is a water problem in Kabul city both quantitatively and qualitatively, and various reasons for this issue can be analyzed, including the arbitrary digging of wells, the increase in population without planning and the weak and sub-standard water supply system,” the deputy minister of economy Abdul Latif Nazari, said.
Recent droughts and climate change have caused a severe shortage of water for drinking and irrigation purposes in many provinces.
“Water is scarce here. The living conditions are not good. We want help to improve our living conditions,” Jihad Dad, a resident of Kandahar province, said.
There is no clean running water in Kabul, and the excessive use of groundwater has caused groundwater levels to drop considerably. In some parts of the capital, the water level has dropped by up to 100 meters.
Some Kabul residents wait in long queues to get drinking water daily.
Experts say that providing drinking water in the capital is critical and the government should act in this regard.
“The government has not been able to take care of the systems that were already activated. People have faced many problems. They do not have enough access to clean water. Drought also increases with each passing day. It is the government’s responsibility to provide water to the people of Kabul and use the water that is wasted in other places,” Lal Zazi, an expert on economic affairs, says.
Roza Otunbayeva, Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), recently visited the city of Maimana in northern Afghanistan, where she met with local officials, entrepreneurs, and UN staff.
UNAMA wrote on its Facebook page on Sunday, that during the visit, entrepreneurs — including women — met with Otunbayeva, and requested support to facilitate access to new markets, particularly in Uzbekistan.
UNAMA further stated that among these entrepreneurs was a group of women who, with the support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), had established a tailoring workshop.
They expressed their appreciation for the support received and spoke about the significant growth and development of their business.
UNAMA added that the organization remains committed to promoting economic opportunities and empowering Afghan communities, especially women.
Anand Prakash, head of the Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan Division of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, met with Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in Kabul for talks on various issues.
According to a press release issued Sunday by the Afghan Foreign Ministry, bilateral political relations, trade, transit and recent political developments in the region were discussed in the meeting.
Muttaqi stressed the need for the expansion of diplomatic and economic relations between the two countries and explained that Afghanistan currently offers favorable opportunities for investment. He said Indian investors should take advantage of these opportunities.
He also said that facilities should be created for the movement of people between Afghanistan and India and the issuance of visas for medical purposes, students and businessmen should return to normal.
Meanwhile, Prakash said that relations with Afghanistan are important for India and he hopes that these relations will expand further in various fields.
He stressed that India will continue its cooperation with Afghanistan and wants to invest in some infrastructure projects and restart projects that were paused for some time.
The two sides also emphasized the expansion of relations, the exchange of delegations, visa facilitation and bilateral cooperation.
Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi has said in a phone call with his Uzbek counterpart that Afghanistan is fully prepared for the implementation of the Trans-Afghan railway project.
During the call, the two sides discussed strengthening bilateral and multilateral relations, as well as expanding political, economic and transit cooperation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kabul said in a statement on Sunday.
Uzbek Foreign Minister Bakhtiyor Saidov noted that Afghanistan’s exports to Uzbekistan have tripled in the first four months of 2025 compared to last year. He vowed to create more facilities in the field of trade and transit between the two countries, especially in issuing visas to Afghan citizens.
Meanwhile, Amir Khan Muttaqi said that Afghanistan is fully prepared for the implementation of major economic projects such as the Trans-Afghan railway project and for the strengthening of political, trade and transit cooperation with Uzbekistan. He said that the existing opportunities should be utilized for the mutual benefit of the two countries.
The two sides also discussed the holding of a trilateral meeting between Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Pakistan at the level of foreign ministers and agreed to coordinate through diplomatic channels to determine the exact date and place of the meeting.
The three neighboring countries signed an agreement in February 2021 to construct a 573-kilometer railway line through Afghanistan, connecting landlocked Central Asia to Pakistan seaports, with an estimated cost of $4.8 billion to enhance regional economic connectivity.
Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar held a telephone conversation with Uzbek foreign minister last Thursday to discuss the Trans-Afghan railway project.
Dar expressed hope that the three countries would soon sign a framework agreement on this important regional project.
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