"Taliban's Ambitious Canal Project Aims to Quench Afghanistan's Thirsty Plains"
The Taliban is overseeing the construction of the Qosh Tepa canal, a major infrastructure project in Afghanistan aimed at diverting water from the Amu Darya river to alleviate water scarcity in the parched plains of northern Afghanistan. Once completed in two years, the canal could irrigate 550,000 hectares of desert, increasing the country's arable land by a third and potentially making Afghanistan self-sufficient in food production. However, challenges such as seepage and sediment accumulation, as well as potential conflicts with neighboring countries over water rights, pose risks to the project's success.