Gomal River () is a river in
Afghanistan and
Pakistan, with its headwaters in the south-east of
Ghazni.
The headwater springs of the Gomal's main branch merge near by the fort of
Babakarkol in
Katawaz, a district inhabited primarily by
Kharoti and Suleiman Khel
Pashtuns. The Gomal's second branch, the "Second Gomal", joins the main channel about 14 miles below its source . The Gomal flows southeast through eastern Ghilzai country for approximately 110 miles before it merges with the
Zhob River, its major tributary, near
Khajuri Kach.
[Gazetteer of Afghanistan VI (Farah), fourth ed., Calcutta, 1908, p. 238] It is about 100 miles from the Zhob River junction to the
Indus River junction.
Within
Pakistan, the Gomal river surrounds
South Waziristan agency, forms the boundary between the
North-West Frontier Province and
Balochistan. From South Waziristan , the river enters the Gomal Valley in district Tank NWFP at a place known as Girdavi, Murtuza which is inhabited by the Miani tribe. It is mainly here that the water of Gomal is used to cultivate the lands in Gomal Valley through
Zam System (
Rod Kohi). The river passes then through the
Damaan plain in
Kulachi Tehsil and later on through
Dera Ismail Khan Tehsil, It then joins the
Indus River 20 miles south of Dera Ismail Khan.