Why is Pakistan worried about Indian reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan? India will soon be assisting the Afghan government to construct another dam, the Shahtoot Dam, according to the Afghan Ministry of Energy and Water. Shahtoot Dam is a proposed dam in the Kabul river basin, one of the five river basins in Afghanistan. The Dam will provide drinking and irrigation water to Kabul, but Pakistan seems to be extremely apprehensive of Indian involvement in Afghanistan.
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Shahtoot Dam: Pakistan Apprehensive
The cost of Shahtoot Dam project is estimated to be in the range of US$150 to $300 million and the feasibility study of this project cost USD 1.86 million which was completed in 2012. The construction of Shahtoot dam would provide potable water to more than 2 million residents of Kabul, besides paving the ground for irrigation of 4000 hectares land in the district of Charasiab and Khairabad.
Earlier, as EurAsian Times reported, the Pakistan Economy Watch said that Islamabad needs to lessen its dependence on arch-rivals India and Afghanistan for water by constructing dams and water reservoirs. Think tanks in Pakistan are very apprehensive of Afghanistan or India breaking the Water Treaty and cutting off all water supplies to Pakistan during a possible conflict.
EurAsian Times also reported that India-Pakistan War will now find a new battleground on the waters of the Kabul river. Capitalising on the good shape of India-Afghanistan relations the two nations look to build 12 hydroelectric projects in Kabul.
These projects will skew the flow of Kabul River into Pakistan consequently creating a water crisis like situation in Pakistan. Islamabad has alleged that Delhi is conspiring to squeeze Pakistan from Kashmir and Afghanistan and break its economic backbone, which is agriculture.
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