Civil war in Afghanistan will disconnect Gwadar port from Central Asia — Pakistani PM

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Monday civil war in Afghanistan after the withdrawal of all US troops from the war-torn country later this year would disconnect Pakistan’s Gwadar port from land-locked Central Asian states.
The South Asian nation is promoting the strategic Gwadar port on the shore of the Arabian Sea as a trade and economic hub for the country, and an economic corridor for Central Asian states. The deep sea port is being developed as part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a $62 billion energy and infrastructure project under construction in Pakistan since 2013.
A vast majority of US troops have left Afghanistan, ahead of the timetable set by President Joe Biden, who had promised they would be home by Sept. 11, the 20th anniversary of the attack that brought them to Afghanistan. The US forces leave as Afghanistan is on the verge of a civil war, a cause of concern for Pakistan, which shares a long, porous border with Afghanistan, hosts millions of Afghan refugees, and faces threats from Pakistani militants — the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) group — that have found safe havens in Afghanistan.
“We are talking to [Afghan] Taliban and neighboring countries for a political settlement in Afghanistan,” the prime minister said during a daylong visit to Gwadar. “In case the political settlement is not reached, besides the refugees’ influx, our trading links with the Central Asian states will be disconnected.”
The prime minister inaugurated the North Gwadar Free Zone, Gwadar Expo Center and Henan Agricultural Industrial Park, among other projects, during the visit. He also inaugurated three factories and witnessed the signing of agreements for solarization and desalination plants to resolve Gwadar’s water and electricity shortage problems.
Ambassadors from friendly countries, including Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Egypt and Qatar, also participated in events in Gwadar, along with federal ministers and top government functionaries. Some Chinese businessmen addressed the ceremony through video-link, promising to invest in the Gwadar industrial zone.
Khan said Pakistan had started a one window operation to facilitate Chinese and other foreign investors set up export-led industries in the Gwadar free zone.
“Gwadar is becoming a focal point for the whole Pakistan,” the prime minister said. “We are organizing ourselves to provide better service to Chinese investors like Vietnam, Bangladesh and Cambodia did.”

Civil war in Afghanistan will disconnect Gwadar port from Central Asia — Pakistani PM