Unlocking Pakistan’s Strategic Interest: The Wakhan Corridor

• The Wakhan Corridor, situated within Afghanistan’s Badakhshan province, serves as a narrow strip connecting Afghanistan to China while separating Tajikistan and Pakistan.
• Established in 1893, the Wakhan corridor acted as a buffer zone between the British and Russian Empires, with its creation resulting from an agreement between Mortimer Durand of the British Raj and Emir Abdur Rahman Khan of Afghanistan.
• Pakistan’s strategic interest in the Wakhan Corridor stems from its potential to enhance its military posture against Indian intrusions in Gilgit-Baltistan and to establish direct access to Tajikistan for greater trade interests.

Historical Origin of Wakhan Corridor:

Wakhan Corridor or Wakhan Pamir Corridor is a narrow strip of territory located within the Badakhshan province of Afghanistan. This corridor stretches eastward, connecting Afghanistan to Xinjiang, China. It also separates the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region of Tajikistan in the north from northern Pakistan in the south.

This high mountain valley serves as the source of both the Panj and Pamir rivers, which converge to form the larger Amu River. For countless centuries, a vital trade route has traversed this valley, facilitating the movement of travelers to and from East, South, and Central Asia. The Wakhan corridor looks like a little funnel sticking out of the country’s (Afghanistan) northeast, connecting Afghanistan to China, if only slightly. The corridor also separates Pakistan from Tajikistan, and that was its original function — although the separated parties then were Britain and Russia.

The Wakhan corridor was formed after an 1893 agreement between Mortimer Durand of the British Raj and Emir Abdur Rahman Khan of Afghanistan, creating the Durand Line. This narrow strip acted as a buffer zone between the Russian Empire and the British Empire (the regions of Russian Turkestan, now in Tajikistan and the northern part of British Raj, now in Pakistan). Its eastern end bordered China’s Xinjiang region, then claimed by the Qing dynasty.

The corridor was the capstone of the British policy of containing Russia, of which the creation of an Afghan buffer state was deemed essential. In the second half of the 19th century, the Russian Empire had been gobbling up the territories around Central Asian cities like Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara and Khoqand, and was scratching at the door of British India.

Afghanistan, nominally independent but in reality, a British protectorate, was to keep them out. The hole in that strategy was situated in the Pamir Mountains, where any authority was local and international borders nonexistent. In 1895, Russia and Britain set up a Pamir Boundary Commission, which settled the northern and southern borders of the corridor. It was announced that neither Afghanistan nor China were directly involved.

Wakhan Corridor & Pakistan’s Quest for Central Asia:

Wakhan is seen as the Corridor of Complication between Taliban, Pakistan, and China. Pakistan has always been attempting to use Afghanistan as land route trading with central Asian states via bordering directly with Tajikistan. However, due to wars and terrorism in Afghanistan continuing for the past four decades, this dream never came true with its true essence. Wakhan, due to its narrow geography and having proximity with Pakistan’s northern areas, provides more stakes to Pakistan than any other nation including Afghans and Chinese.

Chinese and Afghan Taliban officials are discussing the possibility of building modern road and rail connections and even an oil pipeline through the Wakhan Corridor. With the Opening of the corridor, Afghanistan’s dependence on India will decrease and Indian influence on Central Asian Countries will also be diluted. It will be a serious setback to Indian efforts to isolate Pakistan.

Wakhan Corridor It is very important for Pakistan to integrate itself with the Central Asian Countries and every required measure needs to be taken to fulfill this objective. One of the measures that could be taken is, Afghanistan, China, Pakistan and Tajikistan Quadrilateral Cooperation and Coordination Mechanism to counter terrorism should be strengthened as opening up of Wakhan Corridor would require peaceful environment free of militant groups such as  the IS and its affiliated groups.

Moreover, one important step in the fight against terrorism is to stop the movement of terrorists between Pakistan and Afghanistan through effective border management. With cooperation already underway with regard to Islamic State, the armed forces of Pakistan and the Taliban government of Afghanistan should now extend this collaboration to counter militant groups in and around the Wakhan corridor.

for china afghanistan wakhan corridor imperial ambitions

rise of Afghan Taliban couple years back and with the capture of the Wakhan Corridor, the Taliban has played a sort of negative role against Pakistan’s hopes to reach Central Asia. Pakistan has always wanted a road bridge across the Wakhan Corridor to get access to Central Asia bypassing Afghanistan. But the Taliban, who have a not-too-friendly relationship with Islamabad currently, have rejected the idea.

maryam nawaz sharifs

Pakistan and Afghanistan have generally had unfriendly relations, barring the brief period when the Afghan Taliban ruled Afghanistan from 1996-2001. One of the main disputes has been the border between two countries, the Durand Line, leading to other issues like smuggling due to the free movement of the people living across the border and meddling in each other’s internal affairs.

The porous border between Pakistan and Afghanistan remains pertinent today, as, according to Pakistan, terrorists use the border to enter Pakistan to carry out subversive activities.

The issue of terrorism has sown the seeds of distrust and anger between the two countries. After the return of the Taliban to Afghanistan in August 2021, Islamabad had expected that security in Pakistan would improve; that has not happened. The Taliban have denied the allegation that the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), often called the Pakistani Taliban, is operating from Afghan territory and said that Pakistan’s security was “not our responsibility.”

Afghanistan is depicting multiple problems within Pakistan and against the interests of Pakistan. These problems include nourishing and protecting TTP terror groups, Baloch terrorist and sectarian factions.

Additionally, direct trade with Central Asia from Pakistan is not possible due to the unstable situation in Afghanistan even in the presence of the Taliban regime.

Taliban are not showing easy hands to Pakistan yet demanding access to India, opening the border for Afghans and rejecting Durand line as the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan. The Afghan claim is up to Attock district and they live in this Utopia even in the present ground realities.

In case Afghanistan’s Taliban government continues providing space to TTP terrorists and tilted towards giving concessions to India while ignoring Pakistan’s interest, then Pakistan should enhance its influence in Wakhan corridor and use it as a pressure tactic to compel the Afghan government and its security forces to stop cross border terrorist incursions into Pakistan.

This increase in influence from the Pakistan side might lead the situation towards geo economics and geo strategic steps from Pakistan for establishing direct access to Tajikistan for greater trade interests.

Pakistan’s full access to Wakhan and having direct access with Tajikistan linking with central Asia, will be a huge economic and strategic benefit and its geographic importance will be of outstanding nature. Pakistan has solid reasons to ask for access to the Wakhan corridor.

Firstly, the government in Afghanistan is not a legitimate government and is harboring all sorts of terror groups within its jurisdiction, hence a greater threat to the world’s peace. Secondly, Pakistan has lost thousands of citizens lost their lives due to terror activities coming from Afghanistan. Thirdly, Pakistan is the victim of smuggling that is mostly done by Afghan transit trade and other trade means. In other words, Afghanistan is sucking resources from Pakistan yet not complying with its obligations to create a safer trade environment. And finally, the majority of Wakhi people (around 3/4^th) live inside Pakistan.

Having said all above reasons, Pakistan may think aggressively asking access to Wakhan due to a non-legitimate Taliban government in Afghanistan harboring terrorists that are a greater threat to the regional peace and stability.

Strategic Imperatives of Wakhan Corridor:

Opening up of the Wakhan Corridor will assist in Pakistan’s security and strategic interests by enabling an increased military posture and countermeasures against Indian intrusions in Gilgit-Baltistan from Ladakh region. The areas across Qala Panja, Mintaka and Wakhjir Passes interlink Gilgit-Baltistan, Tajikistan, and Afghanistan particularly such an interlinked connection was further reinforced in 1996 with China’s construction of concrete-base suspension bridges in the valleys of Darel, Yasin, Gupis, Shigar and Tangir.

Moreover, the Darel and Tangir bridges connect with the Indus right-bank road as an interchange for a protractible supply line towards the KKH; one of the world’s highly intercepted air targets. The susceptible strangle points of Indus valley and Gilgit town are also sidestepped; besides these bridges connect the districts of Diamer and Ghizer with Swat.

Whereas, Pakistan is connected with Tajikistan through the bridges of Gupis and Yasin that also serve as an offsetting factor against prospective Afghan progression through Wakhan Corridor into the Ghizer and Hunza districts.43 Meanwhile, these bridges offer a parallel way in to the Chitral district amidst winter months when it usually gets obstructed and merely becomes reachable through Afghanistan. Similarly, the Shigar Bridge alternately serves as a supply line towards Siachen and Shaksgam sectors of Baltistan. During the Kargil War, the Chorbat,

Masherbrum and Saltoro valleys witnessed intense Indian attacks whereas; the Shigar Bridge assisted Pakistan to maintain its significant military presence in the NubraTurtuk sectors.44 Wakhan can serve as an important trade corridor. It is in the interest of China, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, if a road is developed across Wakhan. This will enhance trade and business activities, especially in Chitral and Afghanistan. While discussing the prospects and geo-strategic importance of operationalizing Wakhan Corridor, it is equally important to discuss the challenges to initiate such a plan.

Conclusion:

India had realized the importance of Wakhan long before. In the past, India was able to establish an air force base in Tajikistan that was effectively used against the interests of Pakistan.

It renovated Fakhor air base in Tajikistan at a cost of 350 million rupees in 2007 to keep watch on the moves of China and Pakistan in the region. Russia was suspicious of the Indian activities, especially its tilt towards the US and asked Tajikistan not to allow India to use its bases. Pakistan and China can join Russia to counter the Indian moves in the region.

India wants to further enhance its interests in Central Asia as well as to reach the northwest front of Pakistan in minutes and keep a check on the western front of China. Strategically, it provides major support to the Indian proxies operating in Afghanistan and Indian troops stationed at Siachen.

Based upon factors mentioned in this paper, both situations work win-win for Pakistan either Wakhan corridors open up in case of a mutual agreement between the stakeholders or by taking other extreme geo economic and geo strategic measures from Pakistan side.

The Wakhi people are 3/4^th population and live in Pakistan. Pakistan tried its best to improve with all Afghan governments but didn’t succeed due to terrorism in Afghanistan. So, the ultimate geo economic and geo strategic steps for  Wakhan by Pakistan must be on the table.