Chabahar Port: The end of Gwadar?

[Placemat]

Isn't Gwadar a deep sea port. Is Chabahar also a deep sea port.

Both are having draft of 18 metres which makes it deep ports

 

[S.Y.A]

just use the taliban to threaten any and all indian trade.

 

[nahtanbob]

Iran should be classed as an enemy country same as India.

don't you have enough enemies ?

 

[Mugwop]

gwadar is for transport of chinese goods to/from Middle East and Africa
chahbahar is for transport of indian goods to Afghanistan

i never understood the connection

Obsession not connection

 

[Pakhtoon yum]

Dr. Zafar Jaspal |

India, Iran, and Afghanistan have been laboring to establish a new transit route. The new transit route would link Afghanistan and Iran with India through Chabahar Port. The port would facilitate a landlocked Afghanistan and also open a trade route for Indian goods and products to Afghanistan and Central Asia. With the construction of a new transit route, India would not only bypass Pakistan but also realize its decades-old dream to encircle Pakistan.

Islamabad needs to initiate a productive and result-oriented negotiation process for enhancing it’s economic, political and diplomatic relations with Tehran

New Delhi has systematically cultivated its strategic and economic relations with Tehran since the beginning of the twenty-first century. India and Iran signed a defense pact in November 2003 and revised it in 2009.

Neither the United States nor other Western countries solicit India to honor United Nations Security Council directives or sanctions levied against Iran. New Delhi and Kabul signed the strategic partnership with the connivance of United States in 2011. Since then, Afghanistan and Pakistan bilateral relations have been deteriorating.

Read more: Modi revisits Iran ties

Strategically, Chabahar port is very significant. It is located in the Sistan-Balochistan province near Strait of Hormuz and Pakistan’s Gwadar port in Balochistan. The Indians consider it as a gateway to Afghanistan and Central Asia. In May 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that India would invest $500m to develop and operate strategically important Iran’s Chabahar port.

New Delhi promised to invest in the Iranian railway for laying railway lines connecting Iran, Afghanistan and Central Asia. Indeed, the new trade route would assist India to get a foothold in the region. The transformation in Global Politics and cementing the strategic partnership between India and United States has not obstructed the former relations with Iran.

The leadership rhetorical support for improving bilateral relations needs practical initiative(s) for sustainable cordial bilateral relations between the neighboring states

On August 6, 2017, the Indian Union minister for transport, highways, and Shipping, Nitin Gadkari announced that Chabahar port would be operationalised by 2018. He stated: “Civil construction work has started there. We have finalized tenders worth Rs3.8 billion for equipment out of Rs 6bn and once the port becomes operational it will become a growth engine.”

Read more: Tehran hits Delhi’s underbelly as Modi hugs Trump and Netanyahu

India built the 220-kilometre road in the Nimroz province of Afghanistan and now planning to extend this road to Chabahar. Interestingly, the Indian ruling elite is giving an impression that it would be able to develop the port within stipulated time. Whereas; Western manufacturers are shying away from supplying equipment for Chabahar port.

They are afraid of the probability that the United States may reimpose sanctions on Iran. The Trump Administration has already expressed its concerns over the Iranian nuclear program. It gave an impression that it could quash the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action known commonly as the Iran deal or Iran nuclear deal.

The Iranians have confidence in the continuity of the Indian investment in Chabahar because even before the nuclear deal was reached, India was doing billions dollars trade with Iran

President Trump declared 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action “the worst deal ever negotiated”. It was reported in Foreign Policy (July 2017), “the president has assembled a special team of White House aides whose sole task is to figure out a way to claim that Iran is violating the deal.” The termination of the deal would automatically reimpose sanctions against Iran.

Read more: Pakistan must outline and work to achieve its own future for…

The Iranians have confidence in the continuity of the Indian investment in Chabahar because even before the nuclear deal was reached, India was doing billions dollars trade with Iran. Ironically, Washington did not compel New Delhi to oblige the United Nations Security Council sanction imposed against Iran. However, Washington indirectly hindered the construction of Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline.

The trends in the regional politics underscore that the deepening relations among India, Afghanistan, and Iran are not in the interest of Pakistan. Admittedly, it’s difficult for Islamabad to normalize its bilateral relations with India. Nevertheless, Islamabad could engage positively Kabul and further improve its bilateral relations with Tehran.

Pakistani traders could benefit from the Iranian market by supplying rice, wheat, citrus, sugar, soybean, etc

Hence, Islamabad revisits its trade policy with neighboring countries. For instance, Iran is a big market for Pakistani agriculture products. Pakistani traders could benefit from the Iranian market by supplying rice, wheat, citrus, sugar, soybean, etc.

Read more: The Iranian threat: How can Pakistan safeguard its interests?

Islamabad needs to engage Iran constructively to defy India’s isolating strategy. The encouraging factor is that many people in both Iran and Pakistan have been stressing that the Gwadar and Chabahar ports should not be seen as rivals. The government of Pakistan is exploring the opportunities to developing links between Chabahar and Gwadar.

In May 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that India would invest $500m to develop and operate strategically important Iran’s Chabahar port

On August 7, 2017, during a meeting with President Hassan Rouhani in Tehran, Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani reiterated that Iran and Pakistan were strategically important to one another. He stated: “Pakistan will spare no effort to promote relations with Iran.” The leadership rhetorical support for improving bilateral relations needs practical initiative(s) for sustainable cordial bilateral relations between the neighboring states.

To conclude, constructing a new transit route through Chabahar port is an attempt by India to bypass Pakistan and also undermine China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. Therefore, Islamabad needs to initiate a productive and result-oriented negotiation process for enhancing it’s economic, political and diplomatic relations with Tehran.

Dr. Zafar Nawaz Jaspal is Associate Professor, School of Politics and International Relations, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad. He is also an advisor on Non-Proliferation to SASSI, London and a course coordinator at Foreign Services Academy for the Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Email: jaspal_99@hotmail.com. This piece was first published in Pakistan Observer. It has been reprinted with permission. The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Global Village Space’s editorial policy.

Wow these people are trying hard. I wonder how much they get for one of these pieces of...uh..sh*t? Seems very lucrative

 

[Hakikat ve Hikmet]

recent irainian officials meeting with taliban is about chahbahar.india have concerns and seriously if pakistan really want to isolate india,it should do everything to cease all trucks inside afghanistan.the writer here is talking about the isolation of pakistan.i think the biggest isolation for india is coming soon and it's the withdrawal of american forces.although pentagon denied any withdrawal some hours ago,it's not far.there is no future for corridors inside afghanistan and you can't operate without taliban in afghanistan.currently iran is working as a satellite state for india.hey have their own interests.also iran knows limits.iran will never allow india to convert this port into a military port even in war time but for gwadar,it can happen.so disadvantage india.indian supplies will be burned before it reaches vishakapatnam and bombay port.bad time for india.i hope pakistan will do everything to persuade taliban to blow every indian truck on their land.it's time for indian isolation.

It’s a “take no prisoner” game!! By the by, the biggest factor is China itself!!! The more China gets entwined with Gwadar/Balochistan via CPEC, the more it’ll be difficult to play dirty using the Iraninan lands!! Even Israil doesn’t antagonize China....

 

[Mahmood-ur-Rehman]

America-India-Iran nexus ..........Israel ?

 

[Chakar The Great]

Chabahar port is no threat to Gwader, Gwader would not only be a port , what about the billion dollar oil refinery there , special economic zones, Pakistan's largest air port?? Its going to be a new city. Port is small port of city.

Example :
You are comparing MacBook Pro's port with a Intel pentium 2 desktop computer's port, while both ports function same but there is a hell of a difference.

 

[SubWater]

Come on guys,
Chabahar and Gawder will compelete each other.
we must connect this two ports.
Also these ports have different priorities.
Gawder is for connecting West China to sea but Chabahar want to connect central Asia and Europe as well as Iran to Indian ocean.
these two ports are not enemies, they are friend.

Pakistani views and trip to Chabahar.

 

[Foxtrot Delta]

Its like saying gwadar would he a threat to dubai. Grow up people. Gwadar has a purpose for pakistan and china .Chabar has a purpose for iran. Both will fullfil their purpose. One can't nullify other.

 

[Tokhme khar]

One will trade hendi goods with Russia and Europe, the other will trade Chinese goods with the middle east and Africa. What seems to be the problem?

 

[khanmubashir]

Chabbar is meant for Indian trade with central Asia
But ca biggest trading partner is China