Sources from the interim government of Pakistan told Afghanistan International that Islamabad has not asked the Taliban to stop the construction of the Qosh Tapa Canal.
Sources said that the Taliban wants to distract the public from more important issues by spreading false propaganda.
According to sources, the Qosh Tapa Canal is built in northern Afghanistan, which technically, has no impact on Pakistan.
Earlier, a Taliban official said that Pakistani officials have asked the group's leaders to stop work on the development of Qosh Tapa Canal.
Abdul Haq Hammad, Director of the Broadcasting Monitoring Department of the Ministry of Information and Culture of the Taliban said that Pakistani officials have discussed the Qosh Tapa Canal during the official meetings with the Taliban.
During an interview with TOLOnews TV, Hammad added that Pakistani officials have repeatedly and clearly asked Taliban leaders in official meetings to "shut down the Qosh Tapa canal”.
Hammad did not name any Pakistani officials but added that when asked why the canal should be shut, they said, "This canal is detrimental to us."
However, sources in Pakistan's interim government said that no such request was made in any meeting between Pakistani officials and the Taliban.
These sources clarified, "Since the Qosh Tapa Canal does not affect Pakistan, it is not reasonable for Pakistan to put such a request with the Taliban."
In the past two years, the Taliban has invested a substantial amount of money in the Qosh Tapa canal project, which diverts a portion of the Amu River's water to the northern regions of Balkh, Jowzjan, and Faryab provinces.
It is said that the canal is intended to provide irrigation for approximately 550,000 hectares of land and serve up to three million people. Critics contend that the Taliban may have employed the canal to relocate their targeted population and advance the group’s strategic objectives.
