Panj River

Panj River
The Panj river forms much of the border between Tajikistan and Afghanistan
Country	Afghanistan, Tajikistan
Basin features
Main source	confluence of Pamir and Wakhan Rivers
River mouth	Amu Darya
Basin size	114,000 km2 (44,016 sq mi)
Physical characteristics
Length	921 km (572 mi)
Discharge	Average rate: 1,000 m3/s (35,315 cu ft/s)

The Panj River (/ˈpɑːndʒ/; Tajik: Панҷ, Panj/Panç/پنج), also known as Pyandzh River or Pyanj River (derived from its Russian name "Пяндж/Pjandž"), is a tributary of the Amu Darya. The river is 1,125 km long and forms a considerable part of the Afghanistan - Tajikistan border.

The river is formed by the confluence of the Pamir River 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, capital of the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region of Tajikistan it receives water from one of its main tributaries, the Bartang River. It then turns towards the southwest, before joining the river Vakhsh and forming the greatest river of Central Asia, the Amudarya. Panj played a very important role during Soviet times, and was a strategic river during the Soviet military operations in Afghanistan in the 1980s.

A water treaty between the Soviet Union 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.