Afghanistan’s acting FM stressed Taliban’s keenness in meeting with Iranian Ambassador to Afghanistan Hassan Kazemi Qomi…reports Asian Lite News
Afghanistan’s acting Foreign Minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi has stressed the need to resort to dialogue to resolve issues between Kabul and Tehran in a meeting with Iranian Ambassador to Afghanistan Hassan Kazemi Qomi, the local media reported on Sunday.
Iran’s water rights to the Helmand River were discussed in the meeting and the acting foreign minister emphasised that the issues related to Kabul and Tehran can be resolved through “dialogue and understanding,” Tolonews reported.
Based on an agreement signed between Afghanistan and Iran in 1351 in the Persian calendar, which coincided in 1972, Kabul is obliged to allow Helmand River water to flow to neighboring Iran, Xinhua news agency reported.
Tehran has been accusing Kabul of making excuses for giving Iran’s share in the water flow, but the Afghan side rejected the allegation, insisting the water level has receded due to continued drought.
Muttaqi’s remarks on solving issues between Kabul and Tehran were reported amid border clashes between the border forces of the two countries.
One person from the Afghan side and one from Iran were killed in a clash along the border with Afghanistan’s western Nimroz province on Saturday, Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul Nafi Takour said.
No recognition from Iran
Iranian Foreign Minister has said that his country does not recognise Afghanistan’s caretaker Taliban government and insists upon the formation of an inclusive government in the country, according to Iranian Students’ News Agency.
Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, making the remarks in a meeting attended by the country’s diplomatic personnel, expressed Tehran’s dissatisfaction with the neighbouring country’s failure to form an inclusive government, Xinhua news agency reported.
He added that the Taliban is only part of Afghanistan’s reality, not all of it.
Amir-Abdollahian said over the past few months, clashes have occurred every now and then along the common border with Afghanistan, which have become a source of concern.
Another source of argument between the two sides is the joint water rights of the Hirmand River. The Iranian Space Agency spokesman said last week that satellite photos show that the Taliban have made alterations to the river’s route, preventing its water from reaching Iran.
Amir-Abdollahian stressed that Iran’s water rights from the Hirmand River should be respected under a 1973 treaty between the two countries, which entitles Iran to receive 820 million cubic meters of water from the river per year.
The Taliban government issued a statement last week, saying Iran’s frequent requests for water and “inappropriate” comments on media are “harmful”, adding it is committed to the 1973 treaty.
The Hirmand River originates in the Hindu Kush Mountains near Afghanistan’s capital Kabul and runs 1,126 kilometers south before flowing into Hamoun wetlands in Iran’s southeastern Sistan and Baluchestan province, which Amir-Abdollahian said is suffering from drought.