With the support of Indian finances, the Afghanistan government started working on constructing a dam named “Shahtoot Dam” on River Kabul, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Sunday.

The National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Water Resources taking serious notice of the issue called the meeting to review the Pak-Afghan water dispute thoroughly.

In the meeting, senior officials of IRSA (Indus River System Authority) and WAPDA (Water and Power Development Authority) would brief the parliamentarians on the issue. The officials would also give a briefing on the factual position of the water crisis in Sindh and water theft cases.

After getting comprehensive information on the Afghan dam project and Indian involvement, the committee members would likely highlight the situation in the upcoming sessions of the National Assembly.

Separately, the Indus Water Commission (IWC) also called its important meeting on the Pak-Afghan water dispute and the commission officials would give a detailed briefing on the dispute.

After the meeting, the commission would also give a detailed briefing to the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on the Pak-Afghan water dispute. Afghanistan with the assistance of India had given the name to it, the ‘Shahtoot Dam’ that would be completed with the heavy amount of US$236 million within three years. According to its initial blueprint, the Shahtoot Dam had a storage capacity of 147 million cubic meters (MCM) of water.

The Kabul River, known as the Chitral River after entering Pakistani territory and passing through the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, it joined the Indus River near the Attock district of Punjab. It was the only source of drinking water for almost seven million Pakistanis and Afghanis. 

Afghanistan has already completed its ‘Salma Dam on the Hari River in Herat province with the help of India and both countries premiers—Ashraf Ghani and Narendra Modi—inaugurated it in June 2016.

Reporter: Sagheer Chaudhry