Critics have called on government to create proper mechanisms to harness and use Afghanistan's water resources and prevent it from going to waste. 

Currently most of the country's water flows into neighboring countries. Critics say government’s “inability” to take advantage of the country’s water resources could pose a major financial threat to the national economy. 

“The government, besides working on service and other important projects, must take steps to manage water in Afghanistan so that the problems related to this sector are removed,” economic affairs analyst Azrakhsh Hafizi said.
 
Statistics from the Ministry of Energy and Water show that the level of water in the Amur River basin is estimated at more than 20 billion cubic meters per annum. 
 
However, until now, Afghanistan has not managed to build a single dam on the river. 
 
According to the Ministry of Water and Energy (MoWE), the ministry would need an extensive budget to build dams.  
 
“We have our own plans which will help us to take sufficient advantage of our water resources in the north, but you know that we need huge amounts of money to build dams,” said Basir Azimi, deputy minister of water and energy.
 
The MoWE was planning to build several water canals from the Amu River to five provinces including Badakhshan, Takhar, Kunduz, Baghlan and Bamiyan provinces - in the country’s north and northeastern – within the next five years, he said.  
 
Nearly half of Afghanistan’s rivers flow into the Amu River. But most of the water flows on to other Central Asian countries. 

This comes after Iranian President Hassan Rouhani criticized Afghanistan for its plans to build dams.
 
The remarks were met by harsh criticism by members of the public.