New Delhi, October 10: Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi has called for joint efforts between India and Afghanistan to engage with the United States to lift sanctions on Iran’s Chabahar Port — a strategic trade and transit route connecting South Asia with Central Asia and Europe.
“Chabahar will be a good way… India and Afghanistan should try to remove obstacles, because the US has also imposed some sanctions. India and Afghanistan should hold joint talks with the US. It is the need of both of us to use this route,” Muttaqi said during his visit to New Delhi, highlighting the port’s critical role in sustaining regional trade.
Muttaqi’s six-day trip to India aims to strengthen ties with New Delhi. His visit was facilitated by a temporary lifting of a UN Security Council Committee travel ban, enabling him to conduct diplomatic engagements abroad.
The remarks come amid Washington’s recent decision to revoke the sanctions waiver previously granted to India for its involvement in the Chabahar Port project. First issued in 2018 under the Trump administration, the waiver had allowed India to develop and operate the port despite broader US sanctions on Iran.
The revocation poses a challenge to India’s strategic and economic outreach in West and Central Asia, where Chabahar plays a pivotal role. Located roughly 550 nautical miles (around 1,000 km) from Gujarat’s Kandla Port, Chabahar provides India with direct access to Afghanistan and Central Asia, bypassing Pakistan.
