Khalilzad suggests ways to solve Afghanistan-Iran water issue

ATLANTA (Pajhwok): Former US envoy for reconciliation in Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad has asked Iran to avoid threatening Afghanistan over its share in Helmand water.

Khalilzad remarks come days after Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi warned the acting government in Afghanistan that its noncompliance with joint agreements on water rights in regions along their shared border was escalating tensions between Tehran and Kabul.

Raisi warned during a visit to the southeastern Iranian province of Sistan-Baluchistan on May 18 that the "rulers of Afghanistan" should "take the issue of...Iran's water rights seriously."

In a series of tweets, Khalilzad wrote: “Iranian leaders are saber rattling, threatening Afghanistan with a range of hostile actions, including perhaps war. Why? They argue that Iran is not receiving water from Afghanistan that it should be getting under a 1973 treaty between the two countries.”

He said the IEA authorities were being surprisingly restrained and statesmanlike over the issue and they acknowledged the treaty while arguing that the lower amount of water was due to the drought and climate change.

The former diplomat suggested three ways to address the issue: “1. Try bilateral diplomatic engagement to find a solution. 2. Make use of the good offices of a third party 3. If neither step works, then the issue should be submitted to arbitration. None of these have been tried yet. The Iranian regime must stop saber rattling.”

What should be done?  Since both countries remain committed to the 1973 Treaty, they should follow the remedies envisaged in the treaty itself for circumstances of disagreement, Khalilzad wrote.

Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs Amir Khan Muttaqi had said: "We want Iran not to politicize the vital issue of water. It would be better if, instead of making a fuss in the press, such issues should be resolved through face-to-face talks and understanding." Let's solve it.”

In 1351, Afghan Prime Minister Mohammad Musa Shafiq and Iran's then Prime Minister Amir Abbas Howaida signed a water distribution agreement between Afghanistan and Iran.

According to the 1973 agreement, Afghanistan is obligated to provide Iran with 850 million cubic meters of water annually from the Helmand River in case of water sufficiency.

sa/ma