Alleged support of Taliban by Iran, in part to disrupt water projects in Afghanistan

Attacks to the city of Farah in the western region of Afghanistan in early 2018 by the Taliban may, in part, be supported by Iran in an attempt to reduce Afghanistan’s ability to pursue water dam infrastructure projects. Experts disagree to the amount of support given to Taliban militants by Iran, but water projects in Afghanistan’s western region are indisputably a point of contention between the two nations.

Four people are killed in October and more than 30 injured in November in ongoing protests by farmers over allocations of water from the Indira Ghandi Irrigation Canal in Sri Ganganagar district, which borders Pakistan. Authorities impose curfews on the towns of Gharsana, Raola and Anoopgarh.

A grandmother and her grandson in a small village in India insist on being allowed to use a private well to get water. The well owner refuses and sends men to beat the grandmother and grandson with sticks, injuring them both. The owner is concerned that his well cannot provide water to the entire village and therefore, he does not want to provide water to anyone.