Regional momentum for stabilizing Afghanistan

Stability in Afghanistan is critical for regional development and prosperity. That has been the key takeaway from Beijing and Islamabad’s principled positions on Afghanistan thus far, aimed at advancing the country’s economic connectivity, particularly by extending the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) into Afghanistan. The concern of Afghanistan’s economic recovery has also been echoed numerous times by both parties. Especially when both Islamabad and Beijing are cognizant of unwanted spill overs, have seen the nation deteriorate under Western stability pretexts, and admit the need to address Kabul’s exacerbating humanitarian crisis that has left millions in peril.

Afghanistan’s current economic turmoil under the clutches of unilateral sanctions demands a close focus on humanitarian and economic recovery. Millions are on the verge of hunger, and slashed funds for the people, by the U.S., are illustrations of a critical geographical country demanding security for those around it. Both Beijing and Islamabad lead a noble pursuit to call for incentives to drive up economic investment to cede recovery for the nation, and the China-Pakistan consensus on a peaceful and connected Afghanistan reverberates those merits at a challenging juncture.

Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s particular proposal to extend CPEC towards Afghanistan is a tangible illustration of advancing that connectivity. The flagship multibillion dollar project has been picking up momentum under Pakistan’s current leadership, and continues to demonstrate stronger potential for infrastructure and industrial cooperation that can extend bilateral synergies on industrial and supply chains to Afghanistan. Connectivity with Kabul is also a stated position for Islamabad which can relate to Kabul’s pains for tangible aid and long-term recovery prospects, given the overlapping struggles and histories in this region. Giving such a regional consensus formal shape increases the likelihood of tangible socioeconomic benefits being advanced towards a population in need and reinforces CPEC’s profile as a connectivity driver for time-tested allies, as well as for Afghanistan.

Rebuilding Afghanistan, after more than a year of unmet U.S. promises, demands stronger diplomatic and economic coordination as well. Past reporting suggests that joint Sino-Pak incentives for stability in Kabul have earned the latter’s willingness to step-up Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) participation, infrastructure connectivity, as well as long-term energy links. Greater market access from Afghanistan to Central Asia can also promote useful links that are critical for establishing regional peace. Such a trajectory remains in line with China’s goal to provide “development opportunities” to Afghanistan, and at the same time, is a win for Pakistan as it shares a porous border with the country. It is in the interests of other regional actors to promote this alignment between development strategies, and ensure that no country’s population – including that of Afghanistan – is a victim of isolation as its humanitarian crisis soars.

It is a fact that prospects for integration of Afghanistan’s recovery have long been stymied by the presence of unilateral sanctions imposed by the West, underlining the nobility of Pak-China support against those measures. These instruments promote the isolation of a country’s population already hit by triple challenges of flood, pandemic and soaring prices. To Pakistan and China, it also lays bare the Western double standards in characterizing humanitarian support for Afghanistan – a key neighbour – only to learn that promised economic assistance is virtually nowhere to be seen.

Yet unlike the West, China and Pakistan share geographical realities with Afghanistan that make it easier to understand what sustainable security should actually look like. Sanctions carry the risk of increasing spill overs rather than containing them. They also threaten continuity of a delicate status-quo, and make it clear that the U.S. is unwilling to deliver on its economic reconstruction responsibility of Afghanistan in the wake of its hasty withdrawal.

Stronger integration of Afghanistan into regional connectivity frameworks is thus one avenue to ensure that regional integration benefits are equally shared within the subcontinent. Moreover, Pakistan and China’s vocal support for a crisis-hit Afghan population can ensure that the future of ordinary Afghans is not tethered to circumstances seen during a two-decade war.

It helps to recall that such a spirit of forward integration was captured in Foreign Minister Wang’s discourse with Afghanistan’s Taliban-appointed foreign affairs chief on the side-lines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) meeting, as well as in his exchange with Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto. It was highlighted that a stable and connected Afghanistan could serve as the “fulcrum for enhanced regional trade and connectivity” in the region. That is the goal and the real regional motivation for collective progress.

In sum, strong emphasis on extending the BRI’s international gains into Afghanistan is a recipe to aid the country’s long-neglected growth and it arrives at a critical time for millions of people seeking their right to livelihood.

Pakistan and China appears to fight against all that the West could not. This includes the continued castigation of Afghanistan as a conflict zone, persistent coalition interference, and America’s own theft of legitimate Afghan funds at a time of deep crisis. All of which is contrary to Islamabad and Beijing’s long-standing consensus against adversarial implications for a nation that has seen enough of it.

The writer is a foreign affairs commentator and recipient of the Fulbright Award