The Panj ( , ), traditionally known as the Ochus River, is a river in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

and

Tajikistan Tajikistan, officially the Republic of Tajikistan, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Dushanbe is the capital city, capital and most populous city. Tajikistan borders Afghanistan to the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border, south, Uzbekistan to ...

and a

tributary A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which they ...

of the

Amu Darya The Amu Darya ( ),() also shortened to Amu and historically known as the Oxus ( ), is a major river in Central Asia, which flows through Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Afghanistan. Rising in the Pamir Mountains, north of the Hindu Ku ...

. The river is long and has a basin area of .Пяндж (река)

Great Soviet Encyclopedia The ''Great Soviet Encyclopedia'' (GSE; , ''BSE'') is one of the largest Russian-language encyclopedias, published in the Soviet Union from 1926 to 1990. After 2002, the encyclopedia's data was partially included into the later ''Great Russian Enc ...

It forms a considerable part of the

Afghanistan–Tajikistan border The Afghanistan–Tajikistan border is in length and runs from the tripoint with Uzbekistan in the west to the tripoint with the Xinjiang region of China in the east, almost entirely along the Amu Darya, Pyanj and Pamir Rivers, except for the ea ...

. The river is formed by the confluence of the

Pamir River The Pamir River is a shared river located in the Badakhshan Province of Afghanistan and in the Gorno-Badakhshan in Tajikistan. It is a tributary of the Panj River, and forms the northern boundary of Afghanistan's Wakhan District. The river ha ...

and the Wakhan River near the village of Qalʿa-ye Panja ( Qalʽeh-ye Panjeh). From there, it flows westwards, marking part of the border of Afghanistan and Tajikistan. After passing the city of

Khorugh Khorog ( ), also Khorugh ( ) or Kharagh ( ), is the capital of Gorno-Badakhshan, Tajikistan. It is also the capital of the Shughnon District of Gorno-Badakhshan. It has a population of 30,500 (2020 ). Khorog is above sea level in the Pamir M ...

, capital of the

Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region Gorno-Badakhshan, officially the Badakhshan Mountainous Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region in eastern Tajikistan, in the Pamir Mountains. It makes up nearly forty-five percent of the country's land area but only two percent of its popul ...

it receives water from one of its main tributaries, the

Bartang River The Bartang (Russian and Tajik: Бартанг, Persian: برتنگ) is a river of Central Asia, and is a tributary to the Panj which itself is a tributary to the Amu Darya. In its middle and upper reaches, it is respectively known as the Murg ...

. It then turns towards the southwest, before joining the river Vakhsh and forming the greatest river of

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

, the Amu Darya. The Panj played an important role during

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

times, and was a strategic river during the Soviet military operations in Afghanistan in the 1980s.

Water consumption

A water treaty between the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

and Afghanistan, signed in 1946, allows Afghanistan to draw 9 million cubic metres of water a year from the Panj. It currently draws 2 million cubic metres of water. According to the Panj River Basin Project, environmental damage could be expected if Afghanistan drew the entire amount of allocated water from the river under the treaty.

Bridges

* Afghanistan-Tajikistan Bridge: A highway bridge was built over the river between Tajikistan and Afghanistan at Nizhnii Panj. The contract was awarded in May 2005 and the constructio

of the

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

began in Jan 2006 and was completed in August 2007. The financing was provided by the US, amounting to US$37 million, and the construction was done by an Italian General Construction company Rizzani de Eccher S.p.A. under the ownership of

US Army Corps of Engineers The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the military engineering branch of the United States Army. A direct reporting unit (DRU), it has three primary mission areas: Engineer Regiment, military construction, and civil wor ...

. The bridge replaces a barge that could transport only 60 cars a day and which was unusable many months in the year due to strong currents in the river. RAWA reports that this facilitates the heroin trade, the key to the economic miracle in Afghanistan. * Another bridge was built at the confluence with the

Gunt River The Gunt (, ''Ghund'' or Аличур ''Alichur'', historically in English also ''Ghund'') is a river in the south of Tajikistan, north of the Shughnon Range. It is long and has a basin area of .Khorog Khorog ( ), also Khorugh ( ) or Kharagh ( ), is the capital of Gorno-Badakhshan, Tajikistan. It is also the capital of the Shughnon District of Gorno-Badakhshan. It has a population of 30,500 (2020 ). Khorog is above sea level in the Pamir Mou ...

in 2003. * A bridge exists at

Langar Langar may refer to: Community eating *Langar (Sikhism) *Langar (Sufism) Places Afghanistan *Langar, Badakhshan, Afghanistan *Langar, Bamyan, Afghanistan *Langar, Faryab, Afghanistan *Langar, Herat, Afghanistan *Langar, Wardak, Afghanistan ...

, which may still be closed. The

Aga Khan Development Network The Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) is a network of private, non-denominational development agencies founded by the Aga Khan, with the primary focus of improving the quality of life in different regions of Asia and Africa. The network focuse ...

has been engaged in a project to build a series of three bridges across the Panj River between

and

. * The first of these bridges, connecting Tem on the Tajik side with Demogan on the Afghan side, was inaugurated by Tajikistan's President

Emomali Rahmonov Emomali Rahmon ( ; born 5 October 1952), born Emomali Sharipovich Rahmanov, is a Tajik politician who has served as the President of Tajikistan since 1994, having previously led the country as Chairman of the Supreme Assembly (Tajikistan), Su ...

, Afghanistan's Vice-President Hedayat Amin Arsala and His Highness the Aga Khan in November, 2002. * This was followed by the inauguration of the Tajik-Afghan Friendship Bridge at Darwaz in July, 2004, * The Ishkashim bridge between

Ishkashim, Afghanistan Ishkashim (Dari: اشکاشم; also transliterated ''Eshkashem'' or ''Ashkāsham'') is a border town in Badakhshan Province, Badakhshan province of Afghanistan, which has a population of around 12,120 people. The town serves as the capital of Ish ...

and Ishkashim, Tajikistan was inaugurated in October, 2006.

Notes

References

{{Authority control Rivers of Afghanistan Rivers of Tajikistan Border rivers International rivers of Asia Afghanistan–Tajikistan border Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region Ramsar sites in Tajikistan Landforms of Badakhshan Province

Water consumption

Bridges

See also

Notes

References