Extension of CPEC to Afghanistan

Pakistan has discussed Taliban-led Afghanistan joining the multibillion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) infrastructure project. China has proposed construction of the Peshawar-Kabul motorway as an extension of CPEC in Afghanistan.

Taliban takeover of Afghanistan and China emerging as a major challenge in the form of the extension of its ambitious CPEC, has raised India’s concerns on economic, political and security fronts.

China – Pakistan economic corridor

• The CPEC is a bilateral project between Pakistan and China.
• It aims to link the Western part of China (Xinjiang province) to the Gwadar Port in Balochistan, Pakistan. It is intended to promote connectivity across Pakistan with a network of highways, railways, and pipelines accompanied by energy, industrial, and other infrastructure development projects.
• CPEC is a part of the Belt and Road Initiative
• It will pave the way for China to access the Middle East and Africa from Gwadar Port, enabling China to access the Indian Ocean.
• CPEC passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. So India has been severely critical of the CPEC.

Implications of Afghanistan Joining CPEC on India:

• Undermining Chabahar Port: India is wary of undermining the India–Iran–Afghanistan trilateral that gives Afghanistan access to sea via Chabahar port.
• India has been the biggest regional donor to Afghanistan committing more than US$2 billion for the developmental work that includes construction of roads, power plants, dams, parliament building, rural development, education, infrastructure etc. With Extension of CPEC, China will play a leading role in Afghanistan overpowering India’s economic influence in Afghanistan.
• Afghanistan’s inclusion in the CPEC may help in the economic development of Afghanistan, but it will also help Pakistan gain the strategic advantage in Afghanistan at the cost of India. In this situation, Pakistan may augment use of terrorism against India.