News: A few days after recent border clashes with Pakistan, Afghanistan’s Taliban government announced plans to build dams on the Kunar River.
About Kunar River
- Location: The Kunar River system spans Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan and the Afghan provinces of Nuristan, Kunar, and Nangarhar.
- Origin and Mouth: Its headwaters arise in the Hindu Kush Mountains, and it discharges into the Kabul River at Jalalabad.
- Watershed: As part of the Indus basin, the Kunar River contributes to the broader hydrology that ultimately connects to the Indian subcontinent.
- Dimensions: The river extends approximately 480 km (298 miles) and drains a basin area of about 2,600 km² (1,004 square miles).
- Water Source: Glacial melt and seasonal snowmelt from the Hindu Kush constitute its primary sources of flow.
- Tributaries: Its principal left-side tributary is the Shishi River, while the major right-side tributaries include the Pech, Lutkho, and Landai Sin Rivers.
- Course: The river begins in the glaciated highlands of Chitral, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where it is first known as the Mastuj River.
- After merging with the Lutkho River north of Chitral, it becomes the Chitral River, continuing south into Afghanistan’s upper Kunar Valley.
- At Asadabad (Chaga Sarai) it merges with the Pech River, and then proceeds toward Jalalabad where it joins the Kabul River.
- The combined flow re-enters Pakistan, generally following the Khyber Pass corridor before meeting the Indus River near Attock.
- Historical Trade Route: Prior to the establishment of the Afghanistan–Pakistan border, the Kunar River valley constituted an essential trade corridor connecting the Pamir highlands with the lowland markets of the Indian subcontinent.
- Development: Hydropower utilization is exemplified by the Golen Gol Power Project, which harnesses the river’s flow to generate economical electricity.
