Chabahar again?

A few months back Iran dropped India from a major railway link connecting its strategic Chahabar deep sea port to its Zahedan province on border with Pakistan and Afghanistan, citing inordinate delay by New Delhi in providing funds for the project.

But India has started showing renewed interest in the Chahbahar port and this time around it has enlisted support from Uzbekistan.

According to the Indian ministry of external affairs, the first trilateral working group meeting on the joint use of Chahbahar port was held virtually this month.

During the meeting, the participants discussed the use of the port for transit purposes and enhanced regional connectivity. “All sides also noted the significant role played by Chabahar port for the region and deliver humanitarian assistance during the Covid pandemic,” the ministry said.

The meeting also concurred with the Indian proposal to mark “Chabahar Day” on the sidelines of the International Maritime Summit scheduled to be hosted by India next month.

Iran has dropped India from the strategic project after it signed a major strategic partnership deal of $400 billion with China that would see the massive revamping of infrastructure across the Gulf country which had been facing an increasing international isolation because of crippling sanctions imposed by the Trump administration to punish Tehran for its nuclear activities.

But with the success of Joe Biden in the US presidential elections amidst hopes that it would lead to revival of the Iran’s landmark nuclear deal with the world powers abandoned by Biden, India sees new opportunities for it to warm ties with Iran. Moreover, India also wants to check China’s growing clout not just in its neighborhood but in Asia and Middle East.

These developments warrant Pakistan to redouble its efforts to check Indian attempts to isolate it by fostering ties with its neighbors.

Iran lies next door to Pakistan and both enjoy old economic, cultural, religious, political and historic relations which need to be strengthened.

Moreover, if Kalbushun Yadev is any guide then Pakistani policy makers should know that Indians have used Chabahar for activities to destabilize Baluchistan as well as CPEC.

Pakistan, therefore, take immediate measures with the support of China to engage Iran in the CPEC projects and stop India’s subversive activities.

Pakistan is also required to reach out to Uzbekistan and other central Asian republics to lure them towards joining the CPEC and to tell the land-locked nations that Pakistan offers them easiest and shortest route towards sea.

In view of the growing prospects for peace in Afghanistan in the wake of the Pakistan-backed peace process, the chances of regional connectivity have brightened.

Pakistan, therefore, should step up efforts to mobilize regional countries to pool their resources to promote regional connectivity as well as trade and commerce.

India for long has been touting Chabahar as a rival to Gwadar deep sea port.

Though Pakistani and Iranian leadership have repeatedly dispelled the impression of rivalry and rather have projected Gwadar and Chabahar as “sister” ports, both sides need to take practical steps in this regard.

One of the possibilities in this regard could be involvement of China in the development of Chabahar port as it is already involved in the construction of infrastructure in Gwadar. Such an eventuality would not only foster the trilateral relations but would also boost regional connectivity and trade.

Moreover, revival of talks between Pakistan and Iran over the stalled gas pipeline project could be one of the possibilities.

The work on the proposed project has been stalled for fear of possible US sanctions because of the Iranian nuclear programme but now when there are signs that the new US administration could restore the nuclear deal, the prospects of US curbs has dimmed.

As Pakistan is going to face acute energy shortages in the coming years, the timely revival of talk on the gas pipeline project and its ultimate construction would allow Pakistan to skip expensive energy options like thermal energy. Iran has already laid the pipeline on its side of the border and there is a need for laying of the pipeline on the Pakistani side that should then be hooked with the national grid.

Pakistan, therefore, needs to approach the Iranian government as quickly possible to start laying of the gas pipeline.

However, while doing so, Pakistan also needs to assure its Gulf friends that it is not strengthening its bonds with Iran at the expanse of its ties with them.

It needs to tell both Iran and the Gulf countries that Pakistan has maintained a long-running rivalry with India but they have maintained friendship with New Delhi and Pakistan never objected to it. Therefore, while they harbor rivalry with other they should not have any objection on Pakistan in maintaining ties with them. New geostrategic and geo-economic alliances are being forged world over. Pakistan should also foster such alliances in keeping with its political, strategic and economic interests.

These alliances and friendships should not be directed against any other country but should be aimed at serving one’s own legitimate interests. As China is steadily expanding its clout across the region and the world, one expects India to step up efforts to block India’s advance and also isolate Pakistan in the region.

This would require Pakistan to gear up its efforts to scuttle Indian designs and project itself as a crucial hub of connectivity in the region.

There has been a significant improvement in the political, security and economic ties between Pakistan and Iran in recent years.

Pakistan’s relentless efforts for peace in Afghanistan have also helped improve its ties with the Afghan government.

This improved regional environment should pave the way for Pakistani policy makers to promote regional connectivity for the sake of economic development across the region. Any lethargy on the part of the Pakistani policy makers would allow their antagonists in the region to exploit the situation in their favour.

They, therefore, should not let this opportunity to slip away from their hands and they should intensify their efforts to reap economic benefits for Pakistan.

The writer is a senior journalist based in Islamabad