During his two days official visit of Pakistan Deputy Prime Minister of Uzbekistan Elyor Ghaniev met Prime Minister Imran Khan, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Quereshi and Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa. Although media reports highlighted opening of vistas in trade and communication links but the regional situation particularly Afghanistan may also have come under discussion. The two sides have agreed to increase the quantum of bilateral trade to $300 million for which connectivity by railway corridor was emphasised.
Since the dissolution of former Soviet Union and independence of six Central Asian States in 1991access to the markets of these countries has been the theme of discussion by the government and trade bodies. Sardar Asif Ahmad Ali, former Minister for Economic Affairs in the first tenure of PML-N government had made an extensive tour of the Central Asian Republics along with delegation of business leaders to explore how exports from Pakistan can be facilitated to these countries. Commercial councilors from the then occupational group of commerce and trade were appointed in Pakistani embassies in these countries. A series of seminars on the opportunities of exports to Central Asia were held in five star hotels in which economic experts and business leaders gave their suggestions including the free convertibility of national currencies through open ended exchange mechanism to avoid reliance on the US dollar in exports and imports. But the quantum of trade has remained limited so far because of the lack of peace in Afghanistan and poor quality of export products.
The proposal of connectivity by rail-road system can materialise only when political settlement of Afghan war is reached and local and international terrorist groups are wiped out from the soil of Afghanistan. In the previous government a reporter asked a question from the former Foreign Minister Khwaja Muhammad Asif about the implementation of construction work and protection of TAPI Gas Pipeline in the territorial limits of Afghanistan to which he bluntly replied that Pakistan will ask the Taliban for it, ignoring the entry of ISIS fighter in the Afghan war theater. A few days ago reports in print media revealed about the presence of 5000 thousand fighters of this international terrorist organisation along the Afghanistan-Uzbekistan border. This is a new development because previously it had sanctuaries in the provinces of southern Afghanistan adjacent to Pakistan’s border.
The swelling number of ISIS fighters is matter of great concern for Russia and the Central Asian States. In his inaugural speech at November 2018 international peace conference on Afghanistan in Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov made an oblique reference to the US alleging that a world power is providing financial and weapons’ support to this terrorist organisation. Boosting of trade with central Asia and laying communication network for it hinge upon the return of peace and stability to Afghanistan. The dialogue process between the United States and the Taliban is moving forward. At this point of time it is difficult to say which side the camel will sit and what scenario will emerge when NATO forces withdraw from Afghanistan.
