Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev spent two days in Pakistan. While at a joint presser on Thursday Prime Minister Imran Khan dilated on the need to fight Islamophobia, promote pilgrimage tourism and cultural exchanges while the Uzbek President pointed out the huge opportunities for cooperation between the two countries in the fields of trade, investment and science of technology. Both sides however agreed to enhance connectivity via Afghanistan.
Landlocked Central Asia has a population of about 72 million. A number of countries in the region are rich in oil and gas reserves, produce raw material or have extra supply of electricity that can be exported. South Asia on the other hand has a chronic shortage of energy needed by industry, the agricultural sector and expansion of urban centres. Central Asia is also a big market for machines and equipment, chemical products, food and metals. What the region needs is connectivity.
Pakistan can provide the region the nearest and cheapest sea ports. What stands in the way are unsettled conditions in Afghanistan. Despite pressures from all over the world to respect the rights of girls to seek higher education and of women freedom to do jobs the Afghan Taliban are unwilling to do the needful. The USA is being equally unjust by refusing to release Afghan government funds despite fast deteriorating conditions in Afghanistan.
Mr Khan has now pledged that Pakistan and Uzbekistan would meet with the Afghans to see what “conditions” are required for recognition from the international community and what Afghanistan can do to gain international recognition. One wonders if the PM has enough time to do the job. Despite this one would wish him Godspeed.
In case the mission fails Pakistan and Central Asian states need to resort to an alternate arrangement already in place. The Quadrilateral Traffic in Transit Agreement (QTTA) between China, Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan provides an alternative gateway to Central Asia by completely circumnavigating Afghanistan and linking Central Asia with the Karakorum Highway through China. Both Uzbekistan and Tajikistan have since long been expressing seriousness to join the QTTA to access Pakistan’s ports. There is a need on the part of Pakistan and Central Asian states to take recourse to QTTA.
