Afghans must open Wakhan corridor passes (Broghol, Irshad, Dilisang) to get trade deal

While Kabul is very optimistic about a Trade deal with Pakistan, Islamabad is a bit more cautious. There are several points of contention. Afghanistan should not be allowed any access to the sea unless and until it promoses to open the border passes in the Wakhan corridor which have been lying dormant for decades. The road links between Bharat (aka India) and Afghanistan have been buried, to be resurrected after a comprehensive peace deal has been signed between Bharat and Pakistan and Kashmir resolved. Afghanistan has come to grips that Pakistan will not allow Tata trucks laden with arms rumbling to Afghanistan so that the Bharati agencies in Afghanistan can arm the mercenaries and send them down to Pakistan from the Western borders.

• Pakistan on Tuesday once and for all rejected Afghanistan’s demand of opening up its eastern borders to allow the landlocked state to trade with India, dimming prospects of an early agreement on a new transit trade treaty.
• “The bone of contention is the language of the new draft agreement, as Afghanistan wants to insert a provision which would keep the door open for talks on the issue of trade with India,” explained an official of the ministry.
• Pakistan’s official position on the matter was that the transit trade agreement is strictly between Islamabad and Kabul and that the issue of trade with India is a separate one. Express Tribune
• APTTA 2010: Sea routes to Afghans, Central Asian access to Pakistan
• The Wakhan corridor should be part of any Trade deal with Paksitan
• Wakhian territory should be given back to Pakistan becuase it was illegally handed over to Afghanistan by the British.
• Trade across the Wakhan corridor has languished because of neglect and incompetence. This was an essential part of the Silk route. Pakistan must have direct access to Tajiksitan.
• Three of the passes  the Broghol pass, the Irshad Pass and the Dilisang Pass are in varying levels of disuse. Any trade deal must address the opening of these three passes

Following the Soviet invasion, the Kyrgyz  moved en masse into Pakistan, where they requested 5,000 visas from the US so that they could resettle in Alaska–that request was refused, and eventually they ended up in the Lake Van region of Turkey in 1982. The village of Ulupimar in Erciş on Lake Van was given to these Kyrgyz Turkic people.

The Wakhan corridor was the high road of the Silk Road, one of the main routes through the mountains separating western Eurasia and Pakistan from the markets of eastern Eurasia and China. Marco Polo used this routein the 13th century on his way to China and described the Pamir valleys.

Pakistan is ready to give Afghanistan access to the sea if Afghanistan allows free access to Pakistani truck to Central Asia. This deal is in the world, however the main stumbling block is the usage of Pakistani ports for exports and imports to Bharat. Whether Bharati goods and arms (meant for terrorists to be used against Pakistan) are transported via Torkham or via Karachi, Pakistan has a legitimate right to halt that proliferation.

Afghanistan under duress and under pressure from Delhi has been clamoring for access of Bharati goods for Afghanistan–which in effect would compete directly with Pakistani goods. Obviously this is not strategically good for the Pakistanis industry.

Afghanistan does not export much, except for fruits and nuts which are consumed in the border areas of Pakistan. Afghans import products which are transported to Afghanistan, and then sold in Pakistan. This hurts the local Pakistani industry–because the imported goods are sold without paying any taxes. Pakistani shop-keepers and legitimate businesses face stiff competition from the smuggled goods.

Pakistan wants this smuggling stopped which is so lucrative that the goods actually don’t travel to Afghanistan or smuggled back–the mafia ensures that the goods are pilfered in Karachi or en-route and the paperwork makes it look likes the goods were transferred to Afghanistan.

Afghanistan sees Pakistan border trade deal in weeks

Afghanistan expects to sign a trade agreement with Pakistan this month in a move which could boost stability, but only if its neighbour drops opposition to forward-traffic with India, business leaders said on Saturday.

A long deadlock over Afghan demands for transit of exports to India via Pakistan through the sensitive Wagah land route was close to ending, clearing the way for Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement (APTTA) within weeks, Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce director Abdul Qadir Bahman told Reuters.

“It is not yet certain, but we have very strong hopes differences have been overcome,” Bahman said.

Landlocked Afghanistan is dependent upon transit countries for its foreign trade, with Pakistan having the nearest seaport. More exports would help President Hamid Karzai counter a Taliban insurgency by improving economic conditions.

Almost 50% of Afghanistan’s trade is with its five neighbours Pakistan, Iran, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Trade between Afghanistan and Pakistan is worth more than USD 1 billion.

But trade is very one-sided, the World Bank says, consisting for the most part by imports from Pakistan, as compared to very little formal Afghan exports.

Bahman said both sides would hold an eighth round of talks before an international conference in Kabul later this month in which donor countries and Karzai’s government will try to chart a path forward for the conflict-torn country.

“The main point is access to the sea for exports to India,” he said, promising a deal would also help combat the current thriving blackmarket trade between the two countries.

“If we sign this agreement, it will decrease that because we will have found a way for everyone to carry out business without any problems,” Bahman said.

Afghanistan, due to its strategic geographic position, hopes to become a regional transit hub for trade with Central Asia as well as South Asia, the Middle East and China, if the security situation in the country can be stabilised.

US and NATO forces are currently preparing a major offensive against the Taliban in its southern strongholds, although the danger of the eastern border was underscored on Saturday when 11 Pakistanis were killed by insurgents as they entered Afghanistan.

Transit to Afghanistan through Pakistan is currently governed by the 1965 Afghan Transit Trade Agreement which specifies ports, routes, transport and customs transit procedures.

Both Afghanistan and Pakistan have agreed on the need for a new agreement to give Afghanistan sea access and provide Pakistan with direct routes to Central Asia.

But Pakistan says Afghanistan is refusing to agree to customs duty on Afghan cargo in Karachi and other measures to combat illegal smuggling such as compulsory licencing, bank credit guarantees and quarantine restrictions. Money Control

Afghanistan should make territorial adjustments with Pakistan giving Pakistan the Wakhan corridor for some land in Balochistan or Khyber Pakhtunkhawa. The Wakhan corridor separates Paksitan from Tajikistan and was created by the British as a separation of British Colonial territories and Tzarist Russia. Both empire have now gone from the  scene, so Afghanistan should hand over the Wakahan corridor to Pakistan.

The Wakhan Corridor or Wakhan Salient is often called the Afghan Panhandle and was created by the British in 1895–a progeny of the Great Game between Britain and Russia.

The corridor is a long and slender land corridor that forms the eastern part of Afghanistan. It is situated in the Pamir Mountains. It is roughly 210 kms (100 mi) long and fluctuates between 20 kms (10 mi) to 60 kms (40 mi). Named after the Wakhan region of Afghanistan’s Badakhshan Province the boundary was marked by Russian-​Afghan Boundary Commission of 1884-1886 resulted in mapping by Major A. St H. Gibbons and his assistants in 1895-1896 and 1898-1900 .

The British conspiracy separates Tajikistan from Pakistan. The British-Russian Boundary Commission of demarcated the land as a buffer between the British Empire and the Russian areas of Central Asia. This happened in 1895-1896 and Lenin took over the Central Asia Republics right after the October revolution of 1917. It was an integral part of the Silk Road. Pakistan wants to build roads and rials through it to Tajiksitan and Uzbekistan. The route has to opened if Afghanistan wants any trade package.The corridor is sparsely populated with only 10,600 Wakhi farmers and Kyrgyz herders.

China confirms US$ 180 million aid for law enforcers’ capacity building

Minister for Interior Senator Rehman A. Malik Friday held a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Meng Chiang in Chinese capital, said a message from Beijing.

The meeting was held in a cordial atmosphere in which matters of mutual interest came under discussion. During the meeting, China confirmed US$ 180 million to be given to Pakistan for enhancing the capacity of its law enforcement agency.

China also offered training facilities for Pakistani LEAs personnel and RMB (Chinese currency) 2 million for police equipments. Minister for Interior Rehman A. Malik signed donation confirmation with his Chinese counterpart. Chinese Minister for Public Safety Meng Chiang appreciated Pakistan’s efforts in the war against terrorism.

Earlier addressing the Pakistani community at Pakistan embassy, Rehman Malik said that when PPP-led government came to power two years back, it was confronted with a number of challenges including terrorism but with the support of masses and wise decisions of the political leadership, most of the challenges were either solved or reduced to some degree.

In this regard, he especially referred to the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award which remained dormant for many years,but the government with consensus of all political forces got it implemented.

He said that the other major problem the country facing at present is the shortage of power. The government is well aware of the difficulties of the masses owing to power shortage and it has taken a number of steps to reduce the loadshedding. He said that the steps taken recently in this regard are short term measures. The government is also working on war footing to address the issue of power outages.

Rehman Malik said that the democratically elected government is resolved to eliminate terrorism and informed the meeting about the success the government has achieved with the support of Pakistan Army and law enforcing agencies in flushing out terrorists from Swat and Malakand areas.

We are proud of our Pakistan army’s unprecedented efforts in ensuring peace in these areas, said Rehman Malik. He said that it was also responsibility of the international community to come forward and make their contribution in eliminating the menace of terrorism.

Details

Meanwhile a report from Beijing says; Underscoring the strong commitment of the leadership and people of Pakistan to the advancement of the Pakistan-China relations, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said here Friday that the foundation of the solid friendship between Pakistan and China has been laid by Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Chairman Mao Zedong and Premier Zhou Enlai.

This friendly relationship was further consolidated by Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, Malik said and added that President Asif Ali Zardari’s four visits and Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani’s three visits to China have further fortified these bonds.

Malik who was on a 2-day official visit to China expressed these views during detailed talks with State Councillor and Minister for Public Security of China, Meng Jianzhu at the Great Hall of the People. The State Councillor also hosted a banquette in the honour of the minister and his delegation. During the talks, Malik conveyed sympathy on behalf of the Government and people of Pakistan on loss of lives in the recent Qinghai earthquake. He also congratulated China for the successful inauguration of Shanghai Expo.

The interior minister briefed his Chinese counterpart on government of Pakistan’s efforts to address the challenges of separatism, extremism and terrorism. He stated that Pakistan was a victim of terrorism and thousands of its citizens and soldiers have laid their lives in fighting the menace. He underscored that despite all these losses, people and the government of Pakistan remained determined in their resolve to defeat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. He also shared Pakistan’s perspective on recent developments in the region.

Minister Meng Jianzhu warmly welcomed the interior minister and his delegation. He agreed with the minister that Pakistan and China enjoyed a special relationship based on mutual understanding and trust.
He expressed satisfaction at the current level of cooperation between the two countries and reaffirmed China’s strong support for Pakistan’s security and economic development. He thanked Pakistan for making foolproof arrangements for the security of Chinese workers in Pakistan as well as for taking action against the terrorist who are trying to destabilize China.

Both the ministers underlined their resolve to deepen bilateral cooperation on security, counterterrorism, drug trafficking and organized crimes. Malik thanked the Chinese government and people for their resolute support to Pakistan in its time of need. The two ministers signed a document regarding donation of police equipment worth RMB two million from China to Pakistan. The Interior minister thanked China for the donation of equipment as well as its earlier soft loan of  US$ 180 million for purchase of security equipment from China.

During the meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, the two leaders underlined the importance of Pakistan-China strategic and all-weather partnership and agreed to address common threats to their security and stability. The interior minister briefed the Chinese foreign minister on the efforts by the Government of Pakistan to confront and overcome the challenge of extremism and terrorism.

The Chinese foreign minister deeply appreciated the strong commitment of President Asif Ali Zardari to further deepen the strong relationship between Pakistan and China, which is symbolized by his four visits to China since assuming office last year. He also appreciated Pakistan’s efforts towards fighting terrorism. Both sides agreed to continue close consultations and cooperation in all areas of common interest at the bilateral, regional and global levels.

The interior minister also met Chen Qiufa, Administrator of State Administration for Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence (SASTIND). During the meeting both sides expressed satisfaction over the progress of ongoing security and defence projects between Pakistan and China.

Malik stated that the defence cooperation between the two countries is to ensure security and promote stability and peace in the region. He appreciated China’s diplomatic and material support to Pakistan in its struggle against terrorism. Chen Qiufa underscored that the political and military leadership of the two countries have common perception on major regional and international issues.

The two sides agreed to establish a high level Task Force to monitor implementation of the MoUs earlier signed between the two countries. From the Chinese side the Task Force would include the representatives of SASTIND, NORINCO, Poly Technologies and Huawei. The Chinese side informed that it has already completed all formalities for implementation of the MoUs and is awaiting response from Pakistan side.