New Delhi: In what is being considered a major setback for India, Afghanistan is said to have agreed to the extension of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) into its territory. This comes a day after the Taliban’s Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation announced that India has sent essential food aid for around 5,000 Afghan families deported by Pakistan.
Hindustan Times quoted Reuters as reporting that leaders of China, Pakistan and Afghanistan met informally in Beijing on Wednesday and agreed to expand the CPEC to Afghanistan.
According to Reuters, Pakistan’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister Ishaq Dar, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi, and acting foreign minister of Afghanistan Amir Khan Muttaqi discussed diplomatic engagements and measures to boost trade, infrastructure and development in their respective countries.
To demonstrate their commitment to development initiatives, the countries agreed to deepen cooperation on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and extend the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to Afghanistan.
In a post on X, after the meeting, Ishaq Dar said: “Pakistan, China, and Afghanistan stand together for regional peace, stability and development.”
Dar is on a three day visit to Beijing, marking his first high-level interaction after tensions escalated with India. Pakistan’s foreign ministry has announced that the 6th Trilateral Foreign Ministers’ Meeting would be held in Kabul at an early, mutually convenient date.
The foreign ministry also said that Dar’s visit “reaffirmed their iron-clad friendship and advanced their shared vision for international and regional peace and development.”
This unofficial tripartite agreement will be hard for India to digest, particularly as it has disbursed nearly US$ 2 billion – the largest for any country – towards development projects in Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover. China will certainly try to impose its economic influence over Afghanistan through the CPEC. India is also concerned about the Chabahar port in Iran where it has significant investment.
India has always been a strong opponent to a third country’s involvement in the CPEC, as it would amount to infringing upon India’s territory in Pakistan-Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK). The CPEC is to pass through Gilgit and other parts of PoJK.
Through the CPEC, China wants to take advantage of the Gwadar Port in Pakistan’s restive Balochistan province.
