ISLAMABAD, Pakistan is setting new targets of development by creating economic linkages with Central Asia and taking the pathway of regional prosperity that traverses through a peaceful Afghanistan. (opens in a new tab)<\/p>\n
The country, after its significant shift from the geo-strategic to geo-economic policies in line with the vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan, has embarked upon a journey where all roads of regional integration lead to progress.<\/p>\n
The government is focusing on regional connectivity with five-landlocked Central Asian states \u2013 Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, to witness in near future a major economic upturn. However, it has termed peace in Afghanistan as the \u201cforemost factor\u201d to materialize such a vision of prosperity.<\/p>\n
Imran Khan at several occasions has emphasized that of all nations, Pakistan is the one \u201cmost interested\u201d in the resumption of peace in Afghanistan for its own interests.<\/p>\n
\u201cPakistan is concerned for peace in Afghanistan because the country\u2019s economic strategies greatly depend on it,\u201d he said, in a recent interaction with the visiting Afghan journalists in Islamabad.<\/p>\n
A peaceful Afghanistan, he said, could act as a corridor for Pakistan\u2019s trade route to Central Asian states besides benefitting itself from Pakistan\u2019s Gwadar seaport.<\/p>\n
Pakistan, Uzbekistan, and Afghanistan on February 2, 2021, had agreed to a roadmap for the construction of a 573-kilometre route from Mazar-e-Sharif to Peshawar, via Kabul.<\/p>\n
The project, at an estimated cost of $5 billion, will open Pakistani seaports on the Arabian Gulf to Uzbekistan and continue Afghanistan\u2019s gradual integration into the Central Asian economic system.<\/p>\n
The new corridor will improve connectivity with an annual transit potential of up to 20 million tons of cargo transportation.<\/p>\n
Prime Minister Imran Khan and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev in a virtual meeting on April 14, 2021, had supported the construction of \u2018Termez\u2013Mazar-e-Sharif\u2013Kabul\u2013Peshawar\u2019 railway line, calling it an important initiative to establish connectivity from Central Asia to the Arabian Sea through Afghanistan and Pakistani seaports of Karachi, Gwadar and Qasim.<\/p>\n
Prime Minister Khan, during a recent visit to Uzbekistan in July, had stressed that Pakistan\u2019s trade relationship was going to depend on how quickly the countries were able to connect with each other.<\/p>\n
He termed the trans-Afghan railway project as the most important project for Uzbekistan and Pakistan. \u201cFor Pakistan, it connects us to Central Asia, to Uzbekistan which is the biggest of the Central Asian republics and beyond,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The regional connectivity also promises an immense potential for the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor to benefit the entire Central Asian region in areas of transport, fiber optic cable, energy pipelines, and investment opportunities in Special Economic Zones.<\/p>\n
In his address to the leaders participating in the Tashkent\u2019s \u2018Central and South Asia Summit on Opportunities and Challenges\u2019 in July, the prime minister spoke about the situation in Afghanistan, where he said Pakistan wanted a political settlement in the neighbouring country for \u201cmutually beneficial\u201d connectivity between Pakistan and Uzbekistan, and other Central Asian countries.<\/p>\n
Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry has also linked regional connectivity with durable peace in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n
\u201cPakistan is desirous of durable peace in Afghanistan, and is making all possible efforts in this regard,\u201d he said in Tashkent, expressing hope that regional connectivity would prove as a harbinger of progress for the entire region.<\/p>\n
Following the meeting of Prime Minister Imran Khan and the Uzbek president in Tashkent, Fawad said the two leaders expressed the desire of running a train service from Gwadar to Tashkent and truck service from Karachi to Tashkent.<\/p>\n
Commerce Adviser Abdul Raza Dawood says that Pakistan is looking to intensify trade with neighbouring Afghanistan and the countries of Central Asia with an aim to diversify trade beyond the top players.<\/p>\n
The U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan promises a return of stability and provides an opportunity to Pakistan to strengthen commerce with its neighbour, which sits at the crossroads of South and Central Asia.<\/p>\n
Islamabad stands to benefit from greater trade with Central Asian markets that are rich in energy resources to develop its industrial base.<\/p>\n
Pakistan believes that political settlement in Afghanistan is the major factor that can guarantee the efforts towards prosperity.<\/p>\n
Experts say that South Asia-Central Asia connectivity will benefit many countries. The railway line from Mazar-e-Sharif through Kabul to Peshawar will reduce Russia\u2019s north-south route by up to 600 kilometres. Similar reductions in distance and shipping times apply to China\u2019s trade with South Asia and East Africa.<\/p>\n
The announcement by the United States, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan on July 15, 2021, to agree in principle to establish a new quadrilateral diplomatic platform focusing on enhancing regional connectivity, has given strength to the notion.<\/p>\n
With \u2018peace\u2019 and \u2018regional connectivity as the main elements of its geo-economic strategy, the experts are sure about Pakistan that the South Asian country is going to make rapid strides in diverse fields \u2013 Up to Central Asia and beyond.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan is setting new targets of development by creating economic linkages with Central Asia and taking the pathway of regional prosperity that traverses through a peaceful Afghanistan. (opens in a new tab) The country, after its significant shift from the geo-strategic to geo-economic policies […]<\/p>\n
\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":14264,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6222],"tags":[9082,9081,9080,9083],"class_list":["post-14262","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","tag-central-asia","tag-geo-economic","tag-imran-khans","tag-peaceful-afghanistan"],"yoast_head":"\n