Pakistan Watches As Afghanistan Shifts Much Of Its Cargo Traffic From Karachi To Iran’s Chabahar Port

Realising that Pakistan is more interested in aiding and abetting the Taliban than in improving ties with it, Afghanistan has shifted 80 per cent its cargo traffic from Karachi port to Iran’s Bandar Abbas and Chabahar ports, Asia Times has reported.

According to the report, Afghanistan’s decision to shift traffic to Iranian ports was triggered in part by Pakistan’s move to impose trade tariff. Kabul’s move is likely to greatly reduce Islamabad’s role in the transit of Afghan goods, limiting Afghanistan’s dependence on Pakistan for access to the sea.

In November 2017, Afghanistan’s Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah had said that his country was no longer dependent on Pakistan for transit route.

Over $5 billion worth of Afghan trade will be conducted through the Chabahar Port once the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) becomes operational, the Asia Times report says. The INSTC, supported by India, Iran and Russia, will give New Delhi the access to markets in Central Asia.

Much to Pakistan’s displeasure, India has also operationalised an air freight corridor to provide Afghan traders greater access to the Indian market. This has boosted trade between the two countries. On the other hand, trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan has dropped by $2 billion in the current fiscal. Bilateral trade currently stands at around $500 million.

Afghanistan’s relations with Pakistan have plunged to new lows in recent years. Last week, Kabul said it had found proof of Pakistan’s involvement in the recent terror attacks in the country and dispatched a team to hand it over to authorities in Islamabad. Pakistan is also under pressure from the United States to eliminate safe havens that it has provided to the Taliban and the Haqqani Network.