China No talks with Pakistan on Wakhan transit road: IEA

xizhimen

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Wakhan Corridor transit road, Where China, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Tajikstan meet at a long tiny strip of land


Abdul Raqeeb Sail
27 Jul 2022 - 19:20

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KABUL (Pajhwok): Former president Hamid Karzai’s chief of staff Abdul Karim Khurram’s tweet on Pakistan’s intention regarding the imposition of a new Wakhan Corridor policy has triggered a heated debate.

On July 22, Khurram wrote on his Twitter handle that Pakistan had renewed its demand for the construction of a transit road via Wakhan for trade with Tajikistan.

Some sources urged the government to pay serious attention to Wakhan corridor because passive politics in this regard may inflict short- and long-term losses on Afghanistan.

Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesman for the interim government, reacting to such statements, said: “No discussion has taken place on the issue. There will be no compromise even on an inch of Afghanistan’s territory”

Some former government figures, who expressed concerns in this regard, believed the Taliban administration also followed their policy, he added. “Currently, no one can give Afghanistan the evil eye.”

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Wakhan

Wakhan is a far-flung district of Badakhshan province — a mountainous region in the heart of Asia and northeastern Afghanistan. Wakhan is surrounded by the Hindukush mountain range to the west and by Karakorum mountains to the south.

Wakhan is a narrow strip touching China in the northeast, Pakistan in the south and Tajikistan in the north. The high-altitude region, mostly packed by snow, connects Central and South Asia.

The Amu River is located in the Wakhan region. Afghanistan has a 96 kilometres undisputed border with China in the northeast.

Pakistan out to impose long-term transit deal on Afghanistan

Dr. Yar Mohammad Taraki wrote in an article for Pajhwok a year ago that Afghanistan is situated between two major Belt and road Initiative (BRI) and CPEC, multi-billion dollar Chinese projects, routes — one in Pakistan and another in Central Asia. Badakhshan’s Wakhan and Eshakism districts are the nearest areas to connect these two routes.

The article says Pakistan’s responsibility is confined to handling transit issues. Because of its worsening economic condition, Pakistan is interested in using the Wakhan route for the export and import of goods and services.

Taraki wrote that Pakistan was not interested in connecting BRI routes through Wakhan to dispatch Chinese products to Gulf countries and its own goods and services to Russia and Central Asian states.

Connecting BRI routes in Wakhan may benefit Afghanistan, which is supposed to take the initiative to ensure the protection of its national interest.

Kabul University Teacher Ustad Massoud wrote on his Facebook page that by using Wakhan, Pakistan will emerge as a brifge between Central Asia and South Asia and Afghanistan would lose its importance as a link between the two regions.

“Afghanistan’s strategic location, which is an asset, would transit to Pakistan. Therefore, this scheme should be rejected out of hand.”

Afghanistan embassy in Tajikistan

Afghanistan’s mission in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, sent a letter to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in July 2014.

The letter, whose copy is available with Pajhwok, reads: “Pakistan is trying to create instability in the region by using terrorism, drugs and mafia groups as a policy tool.”

The letter quoted the Pakistani ambassador in Dushanbe as saying that former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and the Tajikistan president had agreed that the Wakhan corridor should be built with the support of Afghanistan. This will help Tajikistan gain access to warm waters, they agreed.

The letter said according to research, a 10 kilometres tunnel in Wakhan, which will cost $24 million, will help connect Tajikistan with the Gwadar Port in Balochistan and Pakistan with Central Asia.

Why is India impeding the corridor?

Two Pakistani researchers, Mohammad Munir and Mohammad Shafiq, wrote in a joint research paper published about two years ago about some of the challenges facing the construction of the Wakhan corridor.

The paper reads: “There are various challenges in reviving the Wakhan corridor plan. Firstly, the terrain is very difficult in terms of building road infrastructure and would require a huge investment. Secondly, China is reluctant about building Wakhan corridor due to the issue of terrorism. Thirdly, India as per its previous practice of opposing CPEC, may feel concerned as the outflanking manoeuvre of opening up in the Wakhan corridor will further integrate Afghanistan with China and Pakistan.”

“India is spreading propaganda to tarnish the image of China among the Afghans. Former Indian army chief Gen. VK Singh has termed China’s role in the region as an outflanking move. He added that “India risks losing the influence it has in Afghanistan because of a China-Pakistan link that is getting stronger and is seen in evidence here

“India can hire the services of terrorists like the IS to damage Pakistan and Chinese interest in and around Wakhan. The Indian secret service, RAW is very active in Afghanistan. At least 13 IS fighters from India were killed when the US dropped the mother of all bombs on a cave complex in the Tora Bora mountain in Nangarhar province.”

According to the ex-general, India realised the importance of Wakhan long before. It renovated the Farkhar airbase in Tajikistan at a cost of 350 million rupees in 2007 to keep watch on moves by China and Pakistan in the region. It extended the runway so that its jet fighters could land at the base.

India has also constructed three hangers at the Farkhar base, a strategic investment that has given India an exceptional watch tower. But India can no longer base its fighters and helicopters there because of Russian pressures, he added.

Sayed Massoud, lecturer at Economics Faculty of Kabul University, said India would be severely affected from a rivalry point of view if the Wakhan corridor was constructed by Pakistan. He believed Pakistan will thus monopolise Central Asia’s massive market.

Analysts want govt to probe the issue

Two days ago, former deputy minister of border and tribal affairs Dr. Fraidon Barakzai offered the government some suggestions in an article on his Facebook page.

He said the common point among China, Tajikistan and Afghanistan in the Wakhan region — also called Paul Shevkovskova — had been accepted by the three sides and no one could occupy it.

He recalled the border point was repainted annually in the past with coordination of technical groups from the two countries. But the caretaker government has now formed an emergency committee to visit these border points and share details with leaders.

According to Barakzai, the government should assure the people the Wakhan border marks — which have been in place for 58 years — will be preserved as a “national honor”. Chine should be convinced that both countries would respect each other’s territorial integrity as a red line, he suggested.

Ghulam Haidar Khan, a tribal leader from Faizabad, told Pajhwok he had visited the border in Khan 40 days ago. He said Afghan border forces were stationed there. But Pakistan had built a fort in the border area called Broghel, 10 kilometres from the Afghan territory, he said, adding the facility had been destroyed by Afghan forces.

He revealed a small amount of Afghanistan’s water flowing into Pakistan in this area had also been stopped.

Political analyst Tariq Farhadi opined if Pakistan sought a transit route to Central Asia through Wakhan, there was no problem. But the rumors about Pakistan’s efforts to grab the strip amounted to a violation of international law and the government should be careful in this regard, he said.

Farhadi opined Pakistan had a strong desire, but there should be talks with it on opening the transit route. If the government in Kabul remained weak, he warned, Pakistan might try to occupy the region — something that would create another issue.

Sediq Wafa, professor at the Faculty of Economics of Kabul University, wrote on his Facebook that this evil intention of Pakistan should be exposed to the people.

According to him, this step cannot be taken until political parties — both inside and outside the country — civil society and political leaders stopped internecine bickering.

He remarked: “We often promise to strengthen Afghanistan’s national sovereignty, territorial integrity and maintain our independence. But we must prove that we are honest in our statements.”

Pajhwok tried to get the view of Pakistan’s Foreign Office on the issue, but it spokesman did not respond.

 

xizhimen

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One third of Wakhan corridor belongs to China and two thirds belong to Afghanistan, it also borders TaJikstan and Pakistan, lands adjacent to the corridor is also claimed by India, it is a highly contested, volatile piece of land

Taliban Talking About Pakistan Occupation Wakhan Corridor

Jul 28, 2022

 

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Wakhan Afghanistan Wakhi Community in Pushtoo

 

xizhimen

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Into Wakhan corridor, driving along the border mountain between China and Afghanistan ( China side ), locals just wear hoodies, sweaters and thin jackets to go around and non local tourists wear thick down jackets but still shiver in cold.


Summer respite of this snow bound, frigid border region
 
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xizhimen

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It snows a lot even in June and July in this region, could be one of the harshest place on this planet

 

xizhimen

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This long strap of land is a highly contested valuable piece of real estate that Afghanistan, Pakistan and India may go to war for, the so called crossroads of central Asia, from there it leads to South Asia, East Asia and Europe, Marco Polo entered China from this pass.
 

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The Wakhan Corridor is Indian land in Pak Occupied Kashmir. India is well within its rights to protect its territory.
 

xizhimen

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Wakhan corrider, crissroads of the east and west, Buddhism entered China from this spot and the silk road leads to the west from this point, truly connecting point of immense strategic value

 

xizhimen

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I defer to Chinese expertise on being cheap.
Trolling again? it's the first time I know Indian claims Wakhan corridor itself other than some adjacent lands, Wakhan corridor is owned by China and Afghanistan, India is not even connected by land to that corridor.
 

Jackdaws

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Trolling again? it's the first time I know Indian claims Wakhan corridor itself other than some adjacent lands, Wakhan corridor is owned by China and Afghanistan, India is not even connected by land to that corridor.
Simply because such news is censored in Communist China, doesn't mean it isn't freely available in the democratic world

 

xizhimen

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Simply because such news is censored in Communist China, doesn't mean it isn't freely available in the democratic world

Then how can l be able to read it if the info were censored? besides, where in the article you posted says India owns Wakhan corridor itself as you claimed? Pakistan doesn't own any lands in Wakhan corridor.
 

Jackdaws

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Then how can l be able to read it if the info were censored? besides, where in the article you posted says India owns Wakhan corridor itself as you claimed? Pakistan doesn't own any lands in Wakhan corridor.
Wakhan Corridor abuts Indian land in Gilgit Baltistan illegally occupied by Pak. India doesn't claim the corridor itself; I stand corrected. It's Afghan land.
 

xizhimen

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Wakhan Corridor abuts Indian land in Gilgit Baltistan illegally occupied by Pak. India doesn't claim the corridor itself; I stand corrected. It's Afghan land.
China has agreement with Pakistan stating that China only recognizes the current border between China and Pakistan under current circumstance, if the sovereinty of the lands on the Pakistani side changed then this border will be automatically nullified and China will demand her big share of Kashmir, so technically Kashmir is never a bilateral dispute, China is always a big part of it.
 

xizhimen

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China ceded this land to Pakistan based on goodwill and friendship with Pakistan, but Chinese public still believe this land historically belonged to China and feel very bad of losing it. But the treaty between China and Pakistan states that China only recognizes this region as part of Pakistan under the condition that it is under Pakistani jurisdiction, if Pakistan lost control over this land, China will take the region back.

So techinically current Pakistan controlled Kashmir will be either Pakistan's or China's, India should stop daydreaming about seizing it.
 
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xizhimen

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Chinese tourist visits 勃律, which is being regarded as China's lost land to Pakistan by the Chinese public, and lamented over how China lost it and how these people should have been Chinese citizens.

 

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China ceded this land to Pakistan based on goodwill and friendship with Pakistan, but Chinese public still believe this land historically belonged to China and feel very bad of losing it. But the treaty between China and Pakistan states that China only recognizes this region as part of Pakistan under the condition that it is under Pakistani jurisdiction, if Pakistan lost control over this land, China will take the region back.

So techinically current Pakistan controlled Kashmir will be either Pakistan's or China's, India should stop daydreaming about seizing it.
India already seized Kargil in 1965. Turtuk in Baltistan in 1971. China sat and did nothing.
 
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