| Gomal | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Interactive Map | |
| Location | |
| Countries | Afghanistan andPakistan |
| Provinces | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | Katawaz Region,Gomal District,Paktika Province,Afghanistan |
| • coordinates | 32°30′11″N68°54′05″E / 32.502974°N 68.901294°E /32.502974; 68.901294 |
| Mouth | Indus River |
• location | Dera Ismail Khan,Dera Ismail Khan District,Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,Pakistan |
• coordinates | 31°36′53″N70°50′46″E / 31.61472°N 70.84611°E /31.61472; 70.84611 |
| Length | 400 km (250 mi) |
| Basin features | |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | Wana Khwar |
| • right | Zhob River |
TheGomal (Urdu:دریائے گومل,Pashto:ګومل سیند، ګومل دریاب) is a 400-kilometre-long (250 mi) river inAfghanistan andPakistan. It rises in northern Afghanistan'sPaktika Province and joins theIndus River 20 miles south ofDera Ismail Khan, in Pakistan'sKhyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Gomal University in Dera Ismail Khan andGomal District in Afghanistan's Paktika province are named after the river.
The nameGomal is thought to have derived from the riverGomati, which is mentioned in theRigveda.[1]
Gomal River's headwaters are located in the northern part ofPaktika Province, southeast of the city ofGhazni. The springs which form the headwaters of the Gomal's main branch emerge above the fort at Babakarkol inKatawaz, a district in Paktika inhabited byGhilji Pashtuns from theKharoti andSulaimankhel clans.[2] The Gomal's other branch, the "Second Gomal", joins the main channel about 14 miles below its source.[3] The Gomal flows southeast through the eastern Ghilji country before entering Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.[4][5]
Within Pakistan, the Gomal River forms the boundary betweenSouth Waziristan andBalochistan. Approximately 110 miles from its source, it merges with theZhob River, its major tributary, near Khajuri Kach.[4][5]
It is about 100 miles from the Zhob River to theIndus River. The river enters the Gomal Valley inTank District at a place known as Girdavi, which is inhabited by theMiani Pashtuns. It is mainly here that the water of Gomal is used to cultivate the lands in the Gomal Valley throughZam System (Rod Kohi). The river passes then through the Damaan plain inKulachi Tehsil and later on throughDera Ismail Khan Tehsil. It joins the Indus River 20 miles south of the city ofDera Ismail Khan.[5]
The damming of this river at Khajuri Kachh was envisaged as far back as 1898, even after its administrative approval by the Government of Pakistan in 1963. Work on theGomal Zam Dam was stopped in 1965; not to restart till 2001 during the rule ofPervez Musharraf.[6] while it was opened and inaugurated in 2013.
A street in E-7 sector,Islamabad, is called Gomal Road.
31°36′53″N70°50′46″E / 31.61472°N 70.84611°E /31.61472; 70.84611
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