Kabul, (Samajweekly) 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.
