Eight-year-old Noorullah and his twin, Sanaullah, spend their days hauling yellow jerrycans on a wheelbarrow through Kabul’s dusty alleys instead of going to school — an ordeal for one family that reflects Afghanistan’s deepening water crisis.

Once supplied with water from their own well, the family of 13 has had to queue at communal taps or pool money for costly water tankers since their supply dried up four years ago.

With climate change increasing the frequency of droughts and erratic rainfall in Afghanistan, aid agencies say Kabul is among the most water-stressed cities in Asia, with shortages fuelling disease, malnutrition and school dropouts.

The Afghanistan Analysts Network, an independent Kabul-based research group, in a report this month warned the city’s groundwater could run out by 2030, with other Afghan cities also running dry. The crisis is deepening inequality, as poor families spend up to 30% of their income on tanker water while the wealthy dig ever-deeper private wells.

The twin boys queue with dozens of children at a communal tap, where shoving and shouting often flare into fights as the heat builds.

Standing in line for hours

Noorullah, who has epilepsy, said he once collapsed with a seizure while fetching water. His brother added: “Sometimes we stand in line for three hours. When the heat is too much, we feel dizzy.”

Their father, 42-year-old shopkeeper Assadullah, feels there is no choice. Sitting outside his small shop with empty water barrels stacked nearby, he said: “From morning until evening, my children go for water six or seven times a day.”

“Sometimes they cry and say they cannot fetch more, but what else can we do?”

The shortages have gutted his income too. On a good day, he earns $2–$3, however, he often closes the shop to help his sons push their loads.

“Before, we used to receive water from a company. It lasted us three or four days. Now even that option is gone,” he said.

In the family’s yard, his wife, washes dishes in a plastic basin, measuring out each jug. She said her husband has developed a stomach ulcer, and she contracted H. pylori, a bacterial infection linked to unsafe water. “I boil water twice before giving it to our children, but it is still a struggle,” she said.

Snowmelt once replenished Kabul’s water basin

Kabul’s population has surged past six million in two decades, but investment in water infrastructure has lagged. War wrecked much of the supply network, leaving residents dependent on wells or costly tankers, and those are failing.

Just a few streets from Assadullah, 52-year-old community representative Mohammad Asif Ayubi said more than 380 households in the neighbourhood faced the same plight. “Even wells 120 metres (nearly 400 feet) deep have dried up,” he said, a depth once considered certain to reach water.

Droughts and erratic rainfall patterns have limited the snowmelt that once replenished Kabul’s water basin and left the riverbed dry for much of the year. “Kabul is among the most water-stressed areas,” said Najibullah Sadid, a water researcher based in Germany.

UN envoy Roza Otunbayeva warned the UN Security Council earlier this month that droughts, climate shocks and migration risk turning Kabul into the first modern capital to run out of water “within years, not decades”.

For Assadullah, the wish is simple. “If we had enough water, my children wouldn’t have to run around all day,” he said. “They could go to school. Our whole life would change.”

Social media platform X said on Monday that it was “deeply concerned” by an Indian court’s ruling that quashed its challenge to New Delhi’s content removal mechanisms, and would appeal it to defend freedom of expression in the country.

Elon Musk-owned X has locked horns with Indian authorities for months over the latter’s new content removal system, equating it with censorship. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has argued that the new system tackled a proliferation of unlawful content and ensured accountability online.

The new mechanism “has no basis in the law”, violated rulings from the country’s top court and infringed on Indians’ basic rights of freedom of speech and expression, X said on Monday.

Musk, a self-described free-speech absolutist, has clashed with authorities in several countries over compliance and content takedown demands, but the company’s Indian lawsuit targeted the entire basis for tightened internet regulation in the world’s most populous nation.

Modi’s government has ramped up efforts to police the internet since 2023, by allowing many more officials to file takedown orders and submit them directly to tech firms through a website launched in October.

Last week, an Indian judge said every platform that operated in India “must accept that liberty is yoked with responsibility”.

In its post, X said: “X respects and complies with Indian law… We respectfully disagree with the view that we have no right to raise these concerns because of our incorporation abroad…”

BEIJING: China’s new visa programme aimed at attracting foreign tech talent kicks off this week, a move seen boosting Beijing’s fortunes in its geopolitical rivalry with Washington, as a new US visa policy prompts would-be applicants to scramble for alternatives.

While China has no shortage of skilled local engineers, the programme is part of an effort by Beijing to portray itself as a country welcoming foreign investment and talent, as rising trade tensions due to US tariffs cloud the country’s economic outlook.

China has taken a series of measures to boost foreign investment and travel, opening more sectors to overseas investors and offering visa waivers for citizens from most European countries, Japan and South Korea, among others.

“The symbolism is powerful: while the US raises barriers, China is lowering them,” said Iowa-based immigration attorney Matt Mauntel-Medici, referring to China’s new visa category, called the K visa, which launches on Wednesday.

Perfect timing

The K visa, announced in August, targets young foreign science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) graduates and promises to allow entry, residence and employment without a job offer, which could appeal to foreign workers looking for alternatives to US job opportunities.

Earlier this month, the Trump administration said it would ask companies to pay $100,000 per year for H-1B worker visas, widely used by tech companies to hire skilled foreign workers.

“The US has definitely shot itself in the foot on H-1Bs, and the timing is exquisite for China’s K visa,” said Michael Feller, chief strategist at Geopolitical Strategy.

Other countries including South Korea, Germany and New Zealand are also loosening visa rules to attract skilled migrants.

Immigration experts say the main attraction of the K visa is no requirement of a sponsoring employer, which has been regarded as one of the biggest hurdles for those seeking H-1B visas.

The H-1B visa requires employer sponsorship and is subject to a lottery system, with only 85,000 slots available annually. The new $100,000 fee could further deter first-time applicants.

“It’s an appealing alternative for Indian STEM professionals seeking flexible, streamlined visa options,” said Bikash Kali Das, an Indian student at Sichuan University.

India was by far the largest beneficiary of H-1B visas last year, accounting for 71% of approved beneficiaries.

Language issues, unanswered questions

Despite its promise, the K visa faces hurdles. Chinese government guidelines mention vague “age, educational background and work experience” requirements.

There are also no details on financial incentives, employment facilitation, permanent residency, or family sponsorship. Unlike the US, China does not offer citizenship to foreigners except in rare cases.

China’s State Council did not respond to a request for comment asking for more details on the logistics and underlying strategy of the K visa.

Language is another barrier: most Chinese tech firms operate in Mandarin, limiting opportunities for non-Chinese speakers.

Political tensions between Delhi and Beijing could also become a factor that could limit the number of Indian K visa applicants China is willing to accept, experts said.

“China will need to ensure Indian citizens feel welcome and can do meaningful work without Mandarin,” said Feller.

Alternative for whom?

China’s talent recruitment has traditionally focused on China-born scientists abroad and overseas Chinese.

Recent efforts include home-purchase subsidies and signing bonuses of up to ¥5 million ($702,200). These have drawn back US-based Chinese STEM talent, especially amid Washington’s growing scrutiny on ties to China.

“The recruitment effort targeting Indian tech talent in China is growing but remains moderate compared to the more intensive, well-established, and well-funded initiatives aimed at repatriating Chinese STEM talent,” said Sichuan University’s Das.

A Chinese STEM graduate who recently got a job offer from a Silicon Valley-based tech company was also sceptical about the K visa’s prospects.

“Asian countries like China don’t rely on immigration and local Chinese governments have many ways to attract domestic talent,” he said, declining to be named for privacy reasons.

The US has over 51 million immigrants — 15% of its population — compared to just one million foreigners in China, less than 1% of its population.

While China is unlikely to significantly alter its immigration policy to allow in millions of foreign workers, analysts say the K visa could still boost Beijing’s fortunes in its geopolitical rivalry with Washington.

“If China can attract even a sliver of global tech talent, it will be more competitive in cutting-edge technology,” Feller said.