Delegation of Iranian Parliamentarians To Visit Afghanistan On Water Rights Issues

Iranian lawmaker Mohammad Sargazi said that an Iranian parliamentary delegation will visit Afghanistan to pursue the water rights issue from the Helmand River.

According to Sargazi, the members of parliament have held talks with the Iranian foreign minister about their visit to Afghanistan.

The Iranian lawmaker did not specify a date for the visit of the delegation to Afghanistan, however, he stressed that the parliamentary delegation will consist of representatives of Sistan and Baluchistan provinces and the Iran-Afghanistan parliamentary friendship group.

Earlier, Hasan Kazemi Qomi, Iran’s ambassador to Kabul, said that the Taliban had agreed to the site visit of Kajaki Dam by Iranian experts.

Qomi told Iran's Khabar TV that Iranian experts will visit the dam in the next two weeks. The Iranian ambassador said that the issue of water rights has been followed closely with the Taliban.

The Iranian lawmaker also explained the visit of Iranian experts to the Kajaki Dam and said, "According to Article 5 of Appendix 1 of the 1973 water rights treaty, if the Afghan side declares that the water year is not normal, it must provide the Iranian side with information on the amount of water in the Helmand River. The Iranian side can request a visit to the Dehravood water measurement station to check the level of the Helmand River, and the Afghan side must facilitate the visit."

The Taliban, however, had previously expressed their opposition to the visit of Iranian experts to the Kajaki dam.

Earlier, in an exclusive interview with Afghanistan International, Sher Mohammad Abbas Stankzai, Deputy Foreign Minister of the Taliban, said that the group does not allow the officials of the Islamic Republic to visit the Kajaki Dam. According to him, military centers and dams are sensitive sites, and the Taliban does not allow "foreign agents" to visit them.

The Taliban have said many times that they are committed to the water rights treaty between Iran and Afghanistan, but stressed that there is not enough water to reach Iran.

However, the Islamic Republic has doubted these statements of the Taliban and emphasised that the Iranian experts must verify the Taliban’s claims.