Another missed opportunity for Pakistan
India and Afghanistan have finally developed a new trade route bypassing Pakistan. This was necessitated by Islamabad’s refusal to allow two way trade between the two countries through its territory. India on Sunday shipped its first consignment of wheat to Afghanistan by the new transit route. Indian goods for Kabul will henceforth be transported by sea to Iran’s Chabahar port. From there the cargo will be transferred to trucks and taken to Afghanistan via Zahidan. An air freight corridor between India and Afghanistan was also operationalized earlier this year to give a fillip to bilateral trade relations. The opening of the new sea-cum-land route constitutes a major leap in New Delhi’s outreach to landlocked Afghanistan and Central Asia.
Pakistan’s opposition to opening its roads to Afghan-India trade made little economic sense in a world where walls are being replaced with bridges for free flow of goods between nations. In fact all the three countries would have benefitted by the removal of trade barriers. With containers laden with goods moving freely between South Asia and Central Asia through Pakistan, this would have been economically a win-win situation for Islamabad. Increased trade between India and Pakistan would have cut production costs, brought down prices and created new jobs. The trade artery would have generated a level of interdependence motivating India and Pakistan to look for solutions to outstanding disputes including the core issue of Kashmir. This would have also improved Pakistan’s relations with Afghanistan. The landlocked Afghanistan will be henceforth no more dependent on Pakistan for trade with the rest of the world.
Among other things that drove Islamabad to deny India access to Afghanistan was New Delhi’s unwillingness to enter into talks. Doubts have been expressed over Chabahar port’s economic feasibility. Modi has been questioned over his claim that transport of Indian goods to Europe via road would be cheaper than through cargo ships. Kabul has apparently already warned India that the Taliban could attack trucks carrying Indian exports. India could have avoided the several hazards of the new route by joining CPEC which would have connected it to Afghanistan and Central Asia through Pakistan.