The Panj River also known as Pyandzh River or Piandj River (derived from its Russian name "Пяндж"), is a tributary

Tributary

A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...

 of the Amu Darya

Amu Darya

The Amu Darya , also called Oxus and Amu River, is a major river in Central Asia. It is formed by the junction of the Vakhsh and Panj rivers...

. The river is 1,125 km long and forms a considerable part of the Afghanistan - Tajikistan

Tajikistan

Tajikistan , officially the Republic of Tajikistan , is a mountainous landlocked country in Central Asia. Afghanistan borders it to the south, Uzbekistan to the west, Kyrgyzstan to the north, and China to the east....

 border.

The river is formed by the confluence of the Pamir River

Pamir River

The Pamir is a river in Tajikistan and Afghanistan. It is a tributary of the Panj River, and forms the northern boundary of Wakhan.The river has its sources in the Pamir Mountains in Gorno-Badakhshan province in the far eastern part of Tajikistan. It flows between the Wakhan Range and the Southern...

 and the Wakhan River near the village of Qila-e Panja. From there, it flows westwards, forming the border of Afghanistan and Tajikistan. After passing the city of Khorog

Khorog

The town of Khorugh , also transliterated as Khoroq, Khorogh, Khorog, or Xoroq) is the capital of the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province in Tajikistan. It is also the capital of the Shughnon District of Gorno-Badakhshan. It has a population of 28,000...

, capital of the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region of Tajikistan

Tajikistan

Tajikistan , officially the Republic of Tajikistan , is a mountainous landlocked country in Central Asia. Afghanistan borders it to the south, Uzbekistan to the west, Kyrgyzstan to the north, and China to the east....

 it receives water from one of its main tributaries, the Bartang River. It then turns towards the southwest, before joining the river Vakhsh

Vakhsh River

The Vakhsh has been intensively developed for human use. Electricity, aluminum, and cotton are the mainstays of Tajikistan’s economy, and the Vakhsh is involved with all three of these sectors. Hydroelectricity provides 91% of the country’s electricity as of 2005, and 90% of that total comes from...

 and forming the greatest river of Central Asia

Central Asia

Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...

, the Amudarya. Panj

Panj

Panj is a city in southern Tajikistan which is situated on the Afghan border, some south of the capital Dushanbe. It is located along the banks of the Panj River, from which it derives its name....

 played a very important role during Soviet times, and was a strategic river during the Soviet military operations in Afghanistan in 1980's.

Water consumption

A water treaty between the Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

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

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 construction http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2007/06/02/world/02tajik.large2.jpg of the bridge
  Bridge
  A bridge is a structure built to span physical obstacles such as a body of water, valley, or road, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle...
  
   began in Jan 2006 and was completed in August 2007. The financing was provided by the USA, amounting to 37 million USD, and the construction was done by an Italian General Construction company Rizzani de Eccher S.p.A.
  Rizzani de Eccher S.p.A.
  Rizzani de Eccher S.p.A. is an Italian engineering and construction firm located in Pozzuolo del Friuli near Udine in northeastern Italy. It is an international general contractor on projects such as highways and bridges, as well as large commercial or residential buildings.The company has 2000...
  
   under the ownership of US Army Corps of Engineers. The bridge replaces a barge with which only 60 cars a day can be transported and which is unusable many months in the year due to strong current of the river. RAWA reports that this facilitates the heroin trade, the key to the economic miracle in Afghanistan.

• Another bridge at was built at the confluence with the Gunt River at Khorog
  Khorog
  The town of Khorugh , also transliterated as Khoroq, Khorogh, Khorog, or Xoroq) is the capital of the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province in Tajikistan. It is also the capital of the Shughnon District of Gorno-Badakhshan. It has a population of 28,000...
  
   in 2003.
• A bridge exists at Langar
  Langar, Badakhshan
  Langar is a village in the Wakhan District, Badakhshan Province in north-eastern Afghanistan. It lies on the Panj River, opposite the larger village of Langar in Tajikistan....
  
  , which may still be closed.

The Aga Khan Development Network

Aga Khan Development Network

The Aga Khan Development Network is a group of private, non-denominational development agencies that seek to empower communities and individuals to improve living conditions and opportunities, in sub-Saharan Africa, Central and South Asia, and the Middle East...

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

Tajikistan

Tajikistan , officially the Republic of Tajikistan , is a mountainous landlocked country in Central Asia. Afghanistan borders it to the south, Uzbekistan to the west, Kyrgyzstan to the north, and China to the east....

 and Afghanistan

Afghanistan

Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...

.

• The first of these bridges, connecting Tem on the Tajik side with Demogan on the Afghan side, was innaugrated by Tajikistan’s President Emomali Rahmonov
  Emomali Rahmonov
  Emomalii Rahmon has served as the head of state of the Republic of Tajikistan since 1992, under the position of President since 1994.-Biography:...
  
  , Afghanistan’s Vice-President Hedayat Amin Arsala and His Highness the Aga Khan
  Aga Khan IV
  Prince Karim, Aga Khan IV, NPk, NI, KBE, CC, GCC, GCIH, GCM is the 49th and current Imam of the Shia Imami Nizari Ismaili Muslims. He has held this position under the title of Aga Khan since July 11, 1957, when, at the age of 20, he succeeded his grandfather, Sultan Mahomed Shah Aga Khan...
  
   in November, 2002.
• This was followed by the inauguration of the Tajik-Afghan Friendship Bridge
  Tajik-Afghan Friendship Bridge
  The Tajik-Afghan Friendship Bridge connects the two banks of Darvaz across the Amu Darya river separating Tajikistan and Afghanistan, at Khorog.It was opened on 6 July 2004.- Overview :...
  
   at Darwaz in July, 2004,
• The Ishkashim bridge between Ishkashim, Afghanistan and Ishkashim, Tajikistan was inaugurated in October, 2006.

See also

• Amu river