TEHRAN - After helping in the construction of Salma Dam in western Herat province of Afghanistan, which is known as Afghan-India Friendship Dam, India is now getting ready to aid the war-torn country in building the Shahtoot Dam situated in the Kabul river basin.

According to a report in Economic Times, the dam is planned on a tributary of the Kabul River, in Chahar Asiab district, and it is expected to provide potable water to two million individuals and aid the irrigation of 4000 hectares of agricultural land in Chahar Asiab and Khairabad.

India’s decision to help build this dam was formally conveyed to Afghanistan during a meeting between senior officials of the Joint Working Group on Development Cooperation (JWG-DC), last week, said the report. The total cost of the project is estimated to be $300 million.

This cooperation between the two countries, the report noted, is likely to upset Pakistan and its new government led by Imran Khan, who extended a hand of friendship towards New Delhi weeks before taking the oath of office.

Pakistan has been urging Afghanistan to sign a bilateral treaty to share water between them, but Kabul has expressed reservations. The government in Afghanistan supposedly feels that signing such a treaty might make it difficult to construct irrigation and hydro-electric projects in the Kabul river basin, the report said.