Major Blow to Pakistan as Iran, Tajikistan Boost Chabahar Ties

This cooperation has great geopolitical consequences as Iran and Tajikistan expand partnerships in the Chabahar Port project. This development is considered as a major blow to Pakistan and it’s Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), while the same has been witnessed as a strategic gain to India which was investing heavily into Chabahar Port.

Here is why this move is revolutionary and what it says about the politics of the Stores South Region.

What Is the Chabahar Port Project?
Chabahar free port is an important project in the development of transit and transport infrastructure in the Persian Gulf and Central Asian states. Built with Indian funding it connects India to Afghanistan and Central Asia without the involvement of Pakistan.

Key Features of the Chabahar Port:

Sits at the approximate on the gulf of Oman, specifically proximal the Strait of Hormuz.
A market used as a entry point to Afghanistan and other land locked Central Asian countries.
A crucial component of India’s connectivity ambitions under its North-South Transport Corridor (NSTC) strategy.
Iran-Tajikistan Collaboration: What’s New?
The new accord signed with Iran entails rằng Tajikistan intended to increase the utilization of the Chabahar port for trade and business. Tajikistan is one of the countries in Central Asia and a landlocked country that struggles with its economy in need of proper trade outlets.

Highlights of the Collaboration:

Trade Expansion: Tajikistan will use Chabahar for export and import to and from India to cut the dependence on Pakistan’s Gwadar Port.
Infrastructure Upgrades: The latter still has to significantly increase its trade capacities in the future, and Iran is to boost the port’s capacities to meet these demands.
Reduction of Pakistan’s Influence: In this case, byнов redirectanghai trade routes through Chabahar, Tajikistan is not articulating on transit routes that ne through Pakistan.
This step is a clear advantage for India’s regional plan to offset Gwadar Port of Pakistan which enjoys China’s support.

Why This Is a Setback for Pakistan and ISI
The ongoing partnership between Iran and Tajikistan at the Chabahar port cuts into one of Pakistan’s key strategic plans in the area.

1. Weakening Gwadar’s Role:
China and Pakistan have continuously invested significantly on the CPEC where Gwadar port plays its vital role. This increasing importance of Chabahar may endanger the prospects of Gwadar to capture a share of regional trade.

2. Isolation from Central Asia:
With friends like Tajikistan and Afghanistan leaving Pakistan behind to avail the Chabahar route to the outside world, their market share is steadily declining.

3. Reduced Leverage:
The thought process of ISI to control, or rather, monopolize trade routes in the region through the geographic advantage Pakistan posses seems weak due to the rise of Chabahar.

Good News for India: Strengthening Strategic Interests
The recent events in Chabahar are in the best interest of India in the long term in both geopolitical and economical terms.

1. Direct Access to Central Asia:
India also has an opportunity to diversify and expand its trade and energy cooperation with Tajikistan and other Central Asian states without Pakistan supply roads.

2. Countering China-Pakistan Influence:
Chabahar provides an opportunity for India for countering Gwadar port that is backed by China and inhibits Beijing’s influence in infrastructural development of the area.

3. Enhanced Regional Connectivity:
The deepening of the Chabahar Port complements its Act East and Connect Central Asia strategies with regional markets.

4. Support for Afghanistan:
With help of Chabahar, India still helps Afghanistan on its way to trade and economic growth, avoiding Pakistan’s intervention.

Geopolitical Implications
This move by Iran and Tajikistan has far-reaching consequences for regional geopolitics:

For Iran:

Enhances its role as one of the leading trade centres in the region.
Orenezavisimo ot negativnite sanktsii na Zapada, to eg koordinira svetnite si conclusive s Indii i centrjski Azii.
For Tajikistan:

Offers a dependable market access route thus reducing export dependence on Pakistan.
Enhances its economy by linking up to a more extensive regional exchange system.
For Pakistan:

Undermines its Gwadar Port ambitions and CPEC’s effectiveness.
Reducing regional power in relation to landlocked state of Central Asia.
For India:

Strengthen its position in Central Asia region.
Actually, it strengthens its capacity to respond to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in the area.