UNDER the 10-year agreement with Iran, India can now go to the Central Asian region, Turkey and Syria through “Chabahar Shaheed Behishti Port” without going through Karachi or Gwadar ports. India will invest 30 billion 88 crore rupees for this project. However, we are yet to open the Gwadar port; despite such massive developments. For example, without the Chinese cooperation and capital, it could not be fully operational. Both India and Iran as independent countries are free to make agreements with other countries, but India’s enmity with Pakistan cannot be ignored in the said agreement. After the handover of the Chabahar to India, there may be an increase in Indian terrorist activities in Pakistan, especially in Baluchistan province. Pakistan has been expressing its concerns in this regard even before Iran. Undoubtedly, Iran is our brother country and it also knows that India is a major threat to the security of the region; which neither wants the development of CPEC nor the prosperity of Iran.
Last month, Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi visited Pakistan and some agreements and memorandums were signed, but the US threatened Pakistan of severe sanctions. Pakistan-Iran pipeline has been prepared by Iran with eight billion dollars, while Pakistan could not even start the construction of this line due to American sanctions. It should be noted that the United States has imposed more than 600 trade sanctions on companies and institutions related to Iran during the last three years. However, both India and Iran have given a clear message to the US of not taking any dictation. In this regard, the Indian Foreign Minister Jaishankar clearly ignored American and Israeli friendship. India is also giving drones to Israel to kill the oppressed Palestinians, but in this agreement it prioritized its commercial and economic interests. India is our eternal enemy, it doesn’t tolerate the prosperity and security of Pakistan; continuously working to sabotage the CPEC. Behind the Chabahar agreement, Indian nefarious motives are spreading of terrorism. If India had a border with Iran, it can be said with certainty that India would have imported oil from here without caring anyone.
We should learn a lesson from this: despite American opposition, India bought cheap oil from Russia, gained economic benefits and sold the same oil to Europe, earning 50 billion dollars. Has the US taken any action? Of course not; these threats seem to be reserved only for Pakistan. It’s indeed true that the US often applies sanctions selectively, creating what seems like a double standard. For instance, India continues to import gasoline from Iran, seemingly disregarding US sanctions. Moreover, many countries are allowed to buy Iranian crude oil, including China, Italy, Greece, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Turkey. Even, Iran has also been granted ease in some cases, enabling its port development before Pakistan’s Gwadar.
When it comes to harming China and Pakistan, these restrictions are also softened. The series of American favours on India continues, giving it special authorization during the Trump era for the construction and development of the Chabahar port. Meanwhile, India also secured another contract to connect Chabahar to Afghanistan by railway so that Indian goods could be delivered. There is already Indian influence on Afghan land, and “RAW” has ensured its presence. Despite American attacks on Afghanistan and sacrifices made in the war on terrorism, Pakistan faces a hostile attitude from the Afghan Government. Therefore, in the current regional context, we should also understand that in this era of globalization, your enemy is your neighbor’s friend, and every country has commercial and economic interests.
Pakistan should also stand in front of the US keeping all interests above. We are not the US colony. Strategic shift in our foreign policy is the need of the hour. If India can stand, why not Pakistan? Today, Advani, Ambani are investing in Afghanistan. If Afghanistan gets defence capabilities from India in the future, Pakistan will be the direct target of it. Meanwhile, China is also India’s biggest trading partner despite the tension. China has also invested 400 billion dollars in Iran. Shaheed Behishti Port was built as the second most important port of Chabahar in 1983 in view of the need for a port outside the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf during the Iran-Iraq War. Gwadar Port is only 400 km by road from Chabahar Port while this distance is only 100 km by sea. Chabahar is located just 550 nautical miles from the Kandla port in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is 786 miles from the port of Mumbai. This is the nearest port of Iran with India.
In 2014, despite warnings from a senior US official, India and Iran signed a memorandum to develop the Chabahar port. In May 2016, Narendra Modi during his visit asked Iran to develop and operate the Chabahar port; announced $550 million fund for trilateral relations between Afghanistan. In November 2018, certain products exported from Chabahar port were exempted from US sanctions, including the export of petroleum products from Iran to Afghanistan. At that time, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that this decision was made to keep the communication channel open for the development and humanitarian aid for Afghanistan. In February 2024, a delegation of the Taliban government visited Chabahar port, and after that, Iran’s special representative for Afghan affairs, Hassan Kazemi Qomi, announced that the Taliban Government would invest 35 million dollars in the port. India will be able to export its goods to Afghanistan and Central Asian countries through this port. These are the developments which further increases distance between Pakistan and Afghanistan. China is not only limited to CPEC, “One Belt One Road” will connect Asia, Africa and Europe through many routes, and in front of which America is a major hurdle. In all these situations, there is a strong hidden message for Pakistan; demanding of new shifts in its foreign policy, especially with regard to the US.
—The writer is contributing columnist.
