NEW DELHI: Can Afghanistan offer India the ‘other Indus‘ in its strategic offensive against Pakistan? Both countries are actively exploring this via possible Chenab-like run-of-the river projects on Afghanistan’s eastern rivers. Of particular interest is river Kabul, senior officials, speaking off record, told ET.

This waterway has a few elements indistinguishable to River Chenab in Jammu and Kashmir, including comparable recorded normal stream of around 23 million section of land feet. Afghanistan frantically needs to tap water system and power capability of its eastern waterways, the majority of which stream undiscovered into Pakistan.

In countering to Uri attacks+ , India had raised the stakes by giving the thumbs up to three keep running of-the-waterway extends on stream Chenab. These had before been put on hold because of protests raised by Pakistan under the Indus Waters Treaty.
Pakistan, however, does not have any such treaty with Afghanistan. The rules governing flows of Afghanistan’s eastern rivers, mainly Kabul, Kunnar and Chitral, into Pakistan are just some internationally accepted principles.

“By helping Afghanistan build some of these run-of-the-river projects, India will end up sending a very strong signal to Pakistan, which is already quite concerned over repeated Afghan requests to donors on this issue. So we need to examine the fallout closely,” an official familiar with the issue told ET.