India has recently inked a 10-year agreement with Iran to develop and operate its warm water port: Chabahar. The port is located in Sistan-Baluchistan province and is about 140 km west of Pakistan’s Balochistan. Chabahar port consists of two separate ports: Shahid Kalantri and Shahid Beheshti. As per the agreement, India will be using Shahid Beheshti port to boost trade with Central Asian Republic countries.
India and Iran began discussions on the Chabahar port project back in 2003, but US sanctions on Iran hindered the progress. Talks resumed in 2015 after the US eased sanctions as a result of the Iran nuclear deal and Chabahar saw its first shipment of Indian wheat to Afghanistan in December 2017, offering an alternative route bypassing Pakistan. However, in 2018, former US President Donald Trump withdrew from the nuclear deal and reimposed sanctions on Iran, which restricted operations at the port. This time again, Washington has issued a statement warning India about potential sanctions. Will India be able to persuade the US for a sanction waiver or will the project be once again in limbo? That is yet to be ascertained.
India has a track record of financing different terror groups against Pakistan.
However, for now, the news of India’s agreement with Iran has raised concerns for Pakistan’s internal security and peace. India has a track record of financing different terror groups against Pakistan. While it is already fuelling terrorism in Pakistan through Afghanistan by running dozens of training camps there under the guise of development and humanitarian projects, its recent deal with Iran has given it a new base to accomplish its ill intentions against Pakistan.
There is no denying that India and Iran are independent, sovereign states and have unquestionable right to enter into agreements with other states to serve their national interest. However, India’s hostile intentions towards Pakistan are well known and the world community has repeatedly witnessed the lengths India is willing to go to sabotage security and stability in Pakistan. Let’s not forget that the Indian naval officer, Kulbhushan Jadhav, was caught from Balochistan which is located just a few hours from Chabahar port. He was operating and financing a terrorist network from Iran under the cover story of running a cargo business in Iran’s Bandar-Abbas and Chabahar ports and then later penetrated the Makran city and adjoining districts in Afghanistan, through the Iranian border.
Kulbhushan Jadhav was caught during the same time India was pumping in money for the development of the Chabahar port. Now that India has full-scale management of the port, the terrorism activities are likely to increase manifold.
India, under the leadership of the extremist Modi, has already become a terrorist state. It wasn’t long ago when a report by the Guardian revealed the murder of a Canadian citizen, Hardeep Singh Najjar, at the hands of RAW agents on Canadian soil. The report also uncovered India’s intentions to carry out a similar assassination in the United States. If New Delhi is capable of executing extrajudicial killings in Western-friendly countries thousands of kilometres away, one can only imagine the potential damage it could inflict on its arch-rival, Pakistan, by operating from both its western and northwestern borders.
Keeping in view India’s track record under Modi’s government, this development threatens to provide India with greater freedom to pursue its hegemonic ambitions. Such actions not only jeopardize Pakistan’s security but also threaten regional peace. Increased Indian influence and operations through Chabahar could destabilize the region, escalating tensions and undermining efforts towards stability and cooperation in South Asia and beyond.
The writer is a freelance columnist.