In an interview with Reuters published Sept. 27, the Pakistani ambassador to Kabul, Mansoor Ahmad Khan, reported that extending the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to Afghanistan, as part of the Belt and Road Initiative, is a topic of discussion between the two countries, and pointed out that this would be an excellent way of expanding “regional connectivity.” CPEC, he added, “provides good opportunities, good potential for providing infrastructure and energy connectivity between Afghanistan and Pakistan… [and] also connecting South Asia to the Central Asian region.” According to Khan, discussion with the Taliban has focused on CPEC and on other ways of developing the Afghan economy.
“I think there has been deep interest in terms of developing economic connectivity of Afghanistan with Pakistan through CPEC and with other neighboring countries, including Iran, China, and Central Asian countries,” he told Reuters. The ambassador also referenced the importance of the meetings that took place in Kabul Sept. 21-22 among the special envoys from Pakistan, China, and Russia, with Taliban officials, as well as with former President Hamid Karzai and Abdullah Abdullah, head of the Council of National Reconciliation under the previous government. Discussion focused on security and economic development, and Khan said that the three nations would continue to consult “as a group” and continue to meet with Taliban leaders. He added that Pakistan is working with the international community to ease international restrictions imposed on the country—the sanctions and asset freezing.
