Afghanistan Strategic & Foreign Affairs

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Asif Durrani, Pakistan's former ambassador to Iran, echoes this assessment and places particular emphasis on the economics of connectivity.

"India used Chabahar Port as a ruse to denigrate Pakistan's geographical advantage in Central Asia," Durrani said.

"However, upon completion, India found that this route was not economical and was 4045 per cent more expensive than Karachi port or the land route through Wagah. So far, India's private sector has been reluctant to use Chabahar due to its high cost and long distance."

For Afghanistan, the implications are stark. If India scales back its involvement at Chabahar, Kabul's already limited trade options shrink further, pushing it back toward reliance on Pakistan's ports, roads and transit infrastructure.

"Afghanistan has a right to seek various options, and we want to see Afghanistan connecting with Central Asia and its other neighbours," Johar said.

"But geographically and historically Pakistan has always been critical for its trade and connectivity. Our ports, road networks, and transit infrastructure provide Afghanistan with the most efficient access to global markets."

He stressed that this should not be framed as dependence but as an opportunity for mutually beneficial regional integration provided Kabul addresses Pakistan's core security concerns.

"For that, Kabul will have to adopt a more responsible attitude and ensure that there is no outward flow of terrorism from its soil to Pakistan," he added.

 

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The quiet unravelling of the Chabahar project raises uncomfortable questions for India as well. If New Delhi's much-touted strategic autonomy collapses under the weight of sanctions risk, its ability to sustain independent regional initiatives comes into doubt.

For all the symbolism surrounding IndiaTaliban engagement, the hard realities of geography, economics and external pressure continue to shape outcomes, according to analysts.

 

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Afghan, Turkmen officials discuss key economic, infrastructure projects​

by The Frontier Post

HERAT CITY (Pajhwok): Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar and Turkmenistan’s Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov have discussed major economic and infrastructure projects, including the Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan–India (TAPI) gas pipeline, electricity supply and regional connectivity.

Baradar met Meredov, who also serves as Turkmenistan’s deputy prime minister, in western Herat province on Sunday, according to a statement from his office.

The meeting was attended by Minister of Mines and Petroleum Mullah Hedayatullah Badri, Minister of Energy and Water Haji Mullah Mohammad Younis Akhundzada, Turkmenistan’s Minister of Transport and Railways, the head of the state-owned Turkmengaz company and several other Afghan and Turkmen officials.

The two sides discussed the TAPI project, the Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan (TAP) power transmission project, as well as other electricity and railway schemes.

Baradar said the launch of the TAPI project had paved the way for expanding relations between Afghanistan, Turkmenistan and other countries in the region, adding that Saudi Arabia’s Delta International Group had expressed keen interest in investing in the project.

He said Delta International was interested in investing in gas offtake from the TAPI project, expanding the capacity of Turkmenistan’s major gas fields, constructing and extending a gas pipeline from Guzara district of Herat province to Spin Boldak district of Kandahar province and onwards to India’s border, and building a large, modern gas hub at Pakistan’s Gwadar port.

The deputy prime minister urged Turkmenistan to clarify its position on construction of the Torghundi–Herat railway project, noting that Kazakhstan had also shown interest in implementing the scheme.

He said Afghanistan was fully prepared to finalise the TAP project route map and assured full cooperation from the Afghan side for electricity transmission to Bala Murghab, Khmab and Qarqun districts, as well as for the launch of other regional connectivity projects.

 

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US says UN aid to Afghanistan needs evaluation​

Food shortages hit 17 million Afghans as debate grows over UN mission funding

Reuters
March 10, 2026

Despite what it called a humanitarian "disaster" in Afghanistan, the US said on Monday international assistance to the country should be evaluated, given Taliban "intransigence" and its exclusion of the female population from basic rights.

Speaking to a ‌UN Security Council meeting on Afghanistan, the US ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, noted that the budget for the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), the mandate of which is up for renewal next week, is the largest of any special UN mission in the world.

"In light of the Taliban's intransigence, we must ⁠carefully evaluate the utility of international assistance and engagement in Afghanistan," Waltz said, even as he highlighted an ongoing "humanitarian disaster" there.

 

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"This council must consider carefully the funds we collectively provide for this mission's budget, when the mission's female national staff are not even able to go into the office to work," he added.

Afghanistan under the Taliban faces one of the world's most pressing humanitarian crises.

According to the UN World Food Programme, more than 17 million Afghans - or one-third of the population - are facing acute food shortages, ‌including 4.7 ⁠million facing emergency levels of hunger.

The temporary head of UNAMA, Georgette Gagnon, told the meeting Afghanistan had "urgent" humanitarian needs and the humanitarian crisis there had worsened due to funding cuts. She said humanitarian agencies aimed to assist 17.5 million Afghans in 2026 through an appeal for $1.71 billion, ⁠but this was currently only 10% funded.

 

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Gagnon said Afghanistan's nearly two-week conflict with Pakistan had had "punishing human and economic costs" and the Iran war on its other border was causing prices of ⁠basic commodities to rise.

She said some positive developments showed the value of international engagement, including the Taliban ban on opium poppy cultivation. She warned that if rights and ⁠humanitarian issues were not dealt with, Afghanistan could "once again become a driver of regional and global instability in the form of outmigration, terrorism, narcotics and more."

 

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US designates Afghanistan as ‘state sponsor of wrongful detention’​

by The Frontier Post

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) : US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Monday he has designated Afghanistan as a “State Sponsor of Wrongful Detention,” demanding Taliban authorities release two Americans and commit to ending its “hostage diplomacy.”

The move comes just over a week after Iran became the first country added to Washington’s new “wrongful detention” blacklist.

President Donald Trump in September signed an executive order that created the blacklist, similar to designations by the United States on terrorism.

“The Taliban continues to use terrorist tactics, kidnapping individuals for ransom or to seek policy concessions,” Rubio said in a statement.

He said it was “not safe for Americans to travel to Afghanistan because the Taliban continues to unjustly detain our fellow Americans and other foreign nationals.”

“The Taliban needs to release Dennis Coyle, Mahmoud Habibi, and all Americans unjustly detained in Afghanistan now and commit to cease the practice of hostage diplomacy forever,” he added.

Habibi, an Afghan-American businessman, previously served as Afghanistan’s director of civil aviation.

He was arrested in August 2022 in Kabul along with dozens of other employees of his telecommunications company, according to US authorities.

The State Department has issued a reward of $5 million for information leading to Habibi’s return.

Coyle is an academic from Colorado who worked for two decades in Afghanistan before being detained in January 2025, according to the James Foley Foundation.

 

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Kabul calls for stronger Afghanistan-Qatar cooperation​

by The Frontier Post

KABUL (Pajhwok): The Prime Minister’s Office has described Qatar’s implemented projects in various sectors in Afghanistan as beneficial and called for the expansion of bilateral cooperation during a meeting with the Qatari ambassador in Kabul.

In a statement, the Prime Minister’s Office said Mullah Abdul Wasi, Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister, met with Mirdaf bin Ali Al-Qashouti, the Ambassador of Qatar to Kabul.

Mullah Abdul Wasi described relations between Qatar and Afghanistan as important, noting that over the past 20 years Qatar, as a brotherly Muslim country, has made significant efforts to strengthen peace and stability in Afghanistan.

He said Qatar’s implemented projects in various sectors in Afghanistan are valuable and called for further expansion of cooperation.

He added that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) seeks positive bilateral relations with neighbouring, regional and global countries based on mutual respect and within the framework of Afghanistan’s national interests and Islamic principles.

 

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Russia and Afghanistan signed a military cooperation agreement on Wednesday, just one year after the Kremlin removed the Taliban from a list of banned terrorist groups.

The new agreement underscores the deepening ties between the Kremlin and the Taliban, and while the exact details remain murky, Afghan Defense Minister Mohammad Yaqoub said the agreement marked an expansion of the bilateral relations between the two countries.

“Interaction with Russia is important for us,” Yaqoub said following a meeting with Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu at the International Security Forum in Moscow. “Afghanistan and Russia have long-standing and historic relations, and we want to move forward in this direction.”

The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979 and spent the next decade fighting a bloody war against the mujahideen, Islamic guerrilla fighters resisting the occupation, many of whom would later found the Taliban.

In the years after Soviet troops withdrew, relations between Moscow and Kabul remained tense. However, following the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, Russia was accused of supplying arms to the Taliban as the group moved to consolidate its control over the country.

On Wednesday, Shoigu called for Western countries to “unfreeze” sanctions on the Taliban and “fully acknowledge their full responsibility for their 20-year presence in Afghanistan.”

In April 2025, Russia removed the Taliban from its list of banned terrorist groups, a designation that had been in place since 2003. Then, in July of the same year, it became the first and only country to formally recognize the Taliban as the government of Afghanistan.

Earlier this month, the European Commission confirmed that it had invited Taliban officials to Brussels, although a spokesperson said that the invitation “does not by any means constitute a recognition.”