TEHRAN: JUST like India and Pakistan, Iran is competing for the Afghan market – its share in Afghan imports and reconstruction opportunities and exports to Central Asia. Of course, Iran wants to bypass Afghanistan to reach out to CARS because of violence and turmoil in Afghanistan. Iran sought India’s help in developing the strategically located Chabahar port along with the one with Afghanistan on road and rail network. India’s objective is also to counter China and Pakistan’s alliance in South West Asia also; therefore India is to invest $500 million on development of the Chabahar port. However, India conveys an impression that Afghanistan would benefit from Chabahar port, whereas for Afghanistan imports would be a lot more expensive due to element of freight. Distance from Mumbai to Chabahar is 1840 kilometer, and from Chabahar to Kabul is 1851kilometer. On the other hand, distance from Gwadar to Kabul is 450 kilometer.
There is a perception that Iran and India can benefit if unrest and violence in Afghanistan continue. As interests of both the countries converge in this regard, they do not wish to see peace in Afghanistan. Bringing the northerners into the mainstream, arming and equipping them are chains in the same link. Fanning the flames of violence is and has always been Iran’s policy. Iran built Chabahar Port for the same purpose and it was inaugurated at a time when Pakistan’s Gwadar Port was about to be launched. India’s contribution to the development of Cahbahar Port has relieved Iran of its stress to get CARs ready for transit of their trade goods only through Chabahar. Iran is constructing railway track and metalled roads for its trade with CARs via Turkmenistan to the neglect of roads and railways track in Afghanistan due to bloodshed and violence.
However, Kabul-Wagah is the shortest while the longest route is Kabul-Cahbahar. If Kabul is considered as the business centre then Kabul-Karachi route via Kandhar and Chaman is 500+740 = 1240 km; Kabul-Gwadar via Kandhar is 500+760 = 1260 km while Kabul-Chabahar is 500+1030 = 1580 km. If Kandhar is considered as the business center then Kandhar- Karachi is 740 km and Gwadar is 760 km, while Chabahar is one and half, and two times farther, which is 1100 km. It has to be mentioned that Russia is another player in the region. Following talks with the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Iran, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov revealed that Russia has agreed to begin substantive studies on the implementation of the North-South Transport Corridor, part of which will pass along the western coast of the Caspian Sea, from Russia to Iran through Azerbaijan.
“This involves working with the participation of the different participants’ ministries of transport, which have to look at the technical and financial parameters of such a project. This also involves interaction between the customs and consular services, and we have agreed on this today,” said Lavrov on April 7, 2016. “We believe that these projects will speed up cargo transit. We are discussing the final details,” Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif “We believe that this cooperation serves the interests of the peoples of Iran, Azerbaijan, and Russia – and, of course, the interests of the entire region.” The transport corridor from Russia to Iran through Azerbaijan is an important part of a larger north-south project that was stalled in the mid-2000s due to the imposition of Western sanctions against Iran. With the lifting of the restrictions on Iran, this project has again become relevant.
