Syeda Mazhar
In light of China Pakistan Economic Corridor, India has tried to counter the threat CPEC project brings by initiating a project of its own in collaboration with Iran – the Chabahar Project. Prime Minister Narendera Modi has announced that India will build and operate a key Iranian port after his talks with the Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. Modi’s recent visit to Iran may have been a game changer in Indo-Iranian relations. After the sanctions were lift from Iran, Indian government moved quickly to capitalize on the opportunities of Iran’s mainstreaming.
For an energy-starved India, Chabahar project is said to be a vital link to the resource rich Central Asian states and Afghanistan, where India has important commercial, strategic as well as political interests. Modi’s visit, largely focused on the Chabahar deal, is said to be going on for decades. First mooted by India and Iran in 2003, the Chabahar project, on the sidelines of the Non-Aligned Movement Summit in Tehran, is gold for the energy deprived Indian economy. The presence of Modi, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani at the signing of the tripartite agreement is a testament to the significance being attached to the project.
It is highlighted that India would invest $500million (£344m) to develop the strategically important Chabahar port, close to Iran’s border with Pakistan. The port is said to open a transit route to Afghanistan and Central Asia for Indian goods and merchandise, completely avoiding the land route through Pakistan.
It is no secret that Chabahar project being 100km from Gwadar seaport which china is developing, as a part of a $46 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, is the reason that prompted faster movement on the Iranian project by India. For India, it is imperative to eradicate Pakistan from the picture and squeeze its influence in the region.
Modi making trips to Qatar, Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern lands is a proof of the subtle diplomatic power struggle India is trying to win. Slowly but surely, we are starting to see the contours of a new geopolitical reality take shape in Asia. For Pakistan Modi’s frequent visits to woo the Western Asia should be a wakeup call indented by actions taken to ‘warn’ the other Muslim States of the implied negative repercussions India’s new strategy can give rise to. India’s closeness with Iran and Afghanistan can be harmful to the other Middle Eastern states, with the sanctions recently being lifted by America. Pakistan needs to foresee and brief these countries of the negative fallout of the current Indian move.
The need to unveil Modi’s intentions is becoming greater with every visit. Modi aims to position India globally to isolate Pakistan’s military-industrial complex and its policy of using terrorism as an instrument of state policy. The Saudis hope to leverage Indian expertise in information technology and services to modernize and diversify a single source economy dependent on oil. However, this may prove to be hazardous for Pakistan position deeming value to India’s increasingly stronger foothold in the region. The UAE is among the countries closest to Pakistan, and the message, endorsing India’s concerns on terrorism and underscoring for challenges facing Gulf Kingdoms amid widening the sectarian divide, was a diplomatic loss for Pakistan, demonstrating foresight on changing strategic realities in the Middle East.
The simultaneous efforts to strengthen economic and strategic relations with Iran and Saudi Arabia will give greater purpose to India’s profile in the region. Indian presence near Pakistan’s western border is of a grave security concern, especially after the Kulbushan incident when an Indian Navy Officer resided and infiltrated Pakistan’s homeland and sovereignty. He was caught earlier this year. Iran as a nation should be able to respect Pakistan’s concerns and chalk out a strategy that either guarantees the security of the Pakistani borders or rather eradicate Indian presence from the region altogether.
India being close allies with Muslims’ arch nemesis, Israel should be a red flag for Iran to do any business with them. India- Israel ties have undoubtedly assumed a public dimension since Modi’s election, it is now been seen that the new government has begun to fundamentally alter its trajectory of its Israel policy and are finally coming out of its closet India’s persistent silence towards the presence of Islamic State in the Middle Eastern region and its long-term friendship with Israel is indicative of its ties with the ISIS, especially the financial support and provision of weapons. Now that India is actively pursuing better relations with the other Middle Eastern Countries and is trying to gain a stronger foothold so that it is able gain access to the areas of Islamic State easily. Chabahar project is gold for India to be able to use the port for cheaper transportation of the supplies required by the Islamic State.
The immediate reaction towards the China Pakistan Economic Corridor was to condemn it and strongly resist it. However, when India did not get a positive response from China about mooting the project, India decides to go on and make its own port near the Gwadar port. Indian insecurities and its resolve to diminish Pakistan’s strategic position have been abundantly clear in its actions. In light of the past, Pakistan’s reservations towards the Chabahar Project are purely defensive for India has repeatedly adopted twisted methods into getting its way.
