Monitoring Desk: “Visionary President Shavkat Mirziyoyev can urge Afghanistan to review its foreign policy for regional betterment and for strategically vital trade routes such as the UAP railway.”
This was observed by the writer of an Op-ed piece titled “Regional realignments: Pakistan, Uzbekistan and Afghan factor” published in Express Tribune on Tuesday.
The writer believes that UAP project is expected to reduce cargo delivery time between Uzbekistan and Pakistan by five days and cut transportation costs by at least 40 per cent and this is possibly when Afghanistan becomes a normal country instead of a hotbed of terrorism.
The writer is of the opinion that Pakistan that is emerging as a rising star of global connectivity and peace stabilizer, but it remains a victim of terrorism emanating from Afghanistan, which also poses a constant threat to Central Asian states as enhanced collaboration among Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Al-Qaeda, East Turkistan Islamic Movement/Turkistan Islamic Party (ETIM/TIP), Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) and Jamaat Ansarullah within Afghanistan poses an immediate threat to Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Iran, China and Pakistan. Against this backdrop, enhanced collaboration between Central Asian states and Pakistan is inevitable. She said that the forthcoming visit of the Uzbek President to Pakistan is therefore crucial as Uzbekistan enjoys significant leverage over Afghanistan, as Kabul’s trade largely operates through Uzbek territory and the visionary leadership of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev can be useful to establish regional peace.
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