Daily Times

The Wakhan Corridor is a narrow area of land in the north-eastern Afghanistan, separating Pakistan from Tajikistan, which also provides Afghanistan a tiny border with China at the same time. The corridor was part of the ancient Silk Road — the oldest transit route from China to Central Asia. In the 19th century, the corridor became the legacy of a geopolitical contest between British ruled India and Russian Empire; known to the world as the ‘Great Game’.

The strategic significance of the corridor was recognized by many countries for different reasons. In 2009, US President Obama asked China to open the Wakhan Corridor in Xinjiang to support the NATO operations in Afghanistan, but China rejected the proposal for security considerations in its northwest territory.

On one hand, the Wakhan Corridor provides a route from China to Afghanistan, but on the other it also creates a barrier between Pakistan and Tajikistan. However, since the need of trade and communication from both Pakistan and Tajikistan increased, building a road across Wakhan corridor to connect Pakistan with Tajikistan seems a forward-looking proposal.

Pakistan desires to reach out to Central Asia for trade and energy cooperation in order to solve its power crisis which is crucial to the economic development of the country. Last year, Pakistan’s former PM Nawaz Sharif during a visit to Tajikistan said that Pak-Tajik relations are crucial for regional integration and the promotion of bilateral trade, tourism, and people-to-people contacts.

On one hand, the Wakhan Corridor provides a route from China to Afghanistan, but on the other it also creates a barrier between Pakistan and Tajikistan. However, since the need of trade and communication from both Pakistan and Tajikistan has increased, building a road across the Wakhan corridor to connect Pakistan with Tajikistan seems like a forward-looking proposal

Meanwhile, as a landlocked country, Tajikistan also need accessibility to a seaport for imports and exports. During the same visit, Tajikistan’s President Emomali Rahmon expressed his desire to ‘use the opportunities provided by Pakistan’s seaports and existing transit networks to expand trade at the regional level’.

Since there is no direct road between Pakistan and Tajikistan, both countries could use the rebuilt Karakorum highway as a transit route, bypassing Afghanistan. For the purpose of improving the regional connectivity, China, Pakistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan had already signed a Quadrilateral Transit Traffic Agreement (QTTA) which is a transit trade deal to facilitate traffic and trade. All Tajikistan needs to do is to get on board. In fact, Tajikistan has showed interest in joining this agreement during diplomatic meetings and Pakistan is willing to approve its membership.

However, if Pakistan and Tajikistan manage to build road across the Wakhan Corridor to connect Tajikistan — which could apparently shorten the route between two countries comparing the route via China — they must be well prepared to confront the complications in the region.

Firstly, the issue of instability and terrorism must be considered when Taliban still control most of the Afghan territory and local and international terrorist groups still have presence in some presence in areas surrounding Gilgit-Baltistan.

Secondly, the land form of Hindu Kush with an altitude of 3500 to 4000 meters in the West part is difficult for construction of road from north to south, because the mountain range runs west to east. Pakistan and Tajikistan must carry out a large feasibility study on it.

Thirdly, Pakistan must also ask Afghanistan for leasing or borrowing some part of Afghan land, which, at the moment, seems difficult considering tense ties between both the neighbours. The prospective solution is to make the route under China’s B&R initiative to draw the support from China. Having said that, it is still a difficult goal to achieve.

Besides of border disputes and tense bilateral ties between Pakistan and Afghanistan, the biggest obstacle lying between Pakistan and Tajikistan is the America that controls virtually all policy making aspects in Afghanistan. The US is always the spoiler of regional cooperation due to its “lift India and press Pakistan” strategy.  According to recent declaration of Pentagon, the US is going to send more troops to the region.

USA is also trying to block China’s West forward strategy, since the country is challenging its supremacy in many fields. China is working with regional countries through diplomatic and economic channels to promote regional connectivity and extend CPEC to the neighbours of Pakistan. On the other hand, Washington is doing its best to defame the initiative in wake of losing its regional influence.

Therefore, even with all the positives in place, it is still not the right time for both Pakistan and Tajikistan to work on the prospect of the Wakhan Corridor. However, if both the countries can enhance their bilateral ties, along with working closely with regional stakeholders, the corridor might become a reality in the near future.

The writer is a researcher working at the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), Islamabad. He is also currently enrolled in a PhD program in China

Published in Daily Times, February 24^th 2018.