The Taliban have inaugurated the $117 million Pashdan Dam in Herat province, a project with a storage capacity of 54 million cubic metres of water. The dam has the ability to generate two megawatts of electricity, and the potential to irrigate 13,000 hectares of farmland.
At the opening ceremony in Karukh district on Thursday, Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said that after ensuring security and enforcing Islamic Sharia, the group’s priority is the economy.
Several senior Taliban officials attended the event, including Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Abdul Ghani Baradar and Minister of Energy and Water Abdul Latif Mansoor. Mansoor said the dam was built with “domestic funding and without reliance on foreign aid.”
Baradar described the Pashdan Dam as vital for Herat, saying its operation would help reduce the effects of drought and address farmers’ challenges.
“We want to manage our water resources safely while also giving others their fixed rights,” he said. “Our goal in water management is to strengthen the country’s economy, and we consider water management a key measure to reduce poverty, unemployment, and migration.”
Baradar added that over the past four years, the Taliban had “achieved many accomplishments in implementing Islamic Sharia and in political and economic fields.”
The Pashdan Dam, located about 25 kilometres from Herat city, was first launched in 2011 and was expected to be completed within three years. Construction was repeatedly delayed by insurgency, but the Taliban resumed work on the project in 2024.
The project has drawn concern from Iran, whose officials have called the dam a threat. An Iranian water industry spokesperson described Afghanistan’s “unilateral” use of the Harirud River as a violation of Iran’s customary water rights.
