PAK-AFGHAN WATER COOPERATION IN KABUL RIVER BASIN: CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS IN TALIBAN 2.0

Abstract

This qualitative research examines the prospects of Pak-Afghan cooperation in the Kabul River Basin under Taliban 2.0. Water is a renewable but finite resource. Pakistan, on average, gets 106 MAF of water yearly, most of which comes from the upper riparian states through the Transboundary Rivers of the Indus Basin. The Kabul River supplies 18 MAF (roughly 17% of the water requirements of Pakistan), which is contested between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Pakistan, a nation of over 220 million people, is facing an acute water shortage. To make matters worse, it is witnessing exponential population growth and is also one of the most climate-vulnerable nations, facing frequent cycles of droughts and floods. Per-capita water availability has gone below 1000 M³, making the nation water-starved. If this was not enough, in the Republican era (2001-2021), the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, with Indian support, started developing Afghan water resources, thus potentially squeezing water flow into Pakistan and setting off the alarm bells in Islamabad. The 15^th of August, 2021, heralded the start of Taliban 2.0. The International Community did not accept the new regime, India left behind all its stakes in Afghanistan, providing Pakistan with an opportunity to deal afresh with the de facto Taliban government. Taliban have been scrupulously obdurate in their puerile definition of Afghan sovereignty and territorial integrity, especially when it comes to water. They believe in the primitive concept of Transboundary Rivers, wherein water is a zero-sum game and the upper riparian claims it in its entirety. The idiosyncrasies and dynamics of the Taliban regime are unconventional, and therefore, uncertainty surrounds their actions. To explore the possibility of Pak-Afghan cooperation on shared water resources during Taliban 2.0, a number of interviews were conducted, various articles from peer-reviewed journals were reviewed, and data from official sources were compiled. The study also looked into various options under the International Water Law and briefly compared the Kabul River Basin with the best internal practices. In the end, some tailor-made options creating a win-win situation for the two sides against the historically envisaged zero-sum game are suggested.