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Officials confident practical work on TAPI in Afghanistan will start soon
Officials from the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum said discussions were held recently with Turkmenistan officials and that practical work on the Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan–India (TAPI) gas pipeline project will start soon.
Officials said discussions were held with Turkmen officials during their recent visit to Herat.
The trans-Afghanistan pipeline has been on the cards for years and once complete will transport natural gas from the Galkynysh Gas Field in Turkmenistan through Afghanistan into Pakistan and then to India.
Construction on the project started in Turkmenistan on 13 December 2015 but is currently stalled on the Afghanistan side.
The ministry’s spokesman Homayoun Afghan said however that problems have been resolved to some extent and that resumption of work will start soon.
Officials from the Chamber of Industries and Mines say that once complete, Afghanistan will receive 500 million cubic meters of gas for ten years and then one billion cubic meters of gas for twenty years.
According to them, the government will also earn about $500 million a year in transit fees.
“If the TAPI project is implemented, it will be vital economically for Afghanistan and for three countries that are involved in this project,” said Sakhi Ahmad Payman, deputy head of the Afghanistan Chamber of Industries and Mines.
“In the future, we will be able to use this gas to move gas-related industries and produce energy. Our gas imports will decrease. In general, Afghanistan will get a good income from the economic point of view,” Payman added.
Khanjan Alkozi, a member of the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Investment (ACCI), also said that this is a “major” project that will provide employment opportunities for thousands of people.
In addition, economic experts believe that the grounds for the implementation of large economic projects in the country have been provided and the opportunity should be used effectively.
TAPI gas pipeline is 1,800 km long and extends from Afghanistan and Pakistan to India – of which 735 km of it will traverse Afghanistan through the provinces of Herat, Farah, Helmand and Kandahar.
It is estimated that the cost of this project will exceed $22.5 billion.
Pakistan says communities living along the Afghanistan-Pakistan Durand Line want peace and stability, despite ongoing security concerns in the region.
Speaking during a weekly media briefing, Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said there are no major issues between the people of Afghanistan and Pakistan, adding that residents on both sides of the Durand Line want peaceful relations and greater regional stability.
However, Andrabi claimed that terrorism originating from Afghan territory continues to undermine peace efforts.
He said Islamabad believes militant activity crossing from Afghanistan remains a significant obstacle to improving regional security and bilateral ties.
The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has repeatedly rejected such allegations, maintaining that no militant group is allowed to use Afghan soil to threaten neighboring countries.
Andrabi also said Pakistan remains diplomatically engaged on regional matters involving Afghanistan, Iran, India, and Somalia, stressing that dialogue and diplomacy remain Islamabad’s preferred means of resolving disputes.
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Afghanistan-Gambia ties discussed during Doha meeting
Both sides also exchanged views on strengthening diplomatic engagement and exploring future economic cooperation.
Suhail Shaheen, head of the Islamic Emirate’s embassy in Doha, has met with Omar Jah, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of The Gambia to Qatar, to discuss bilateral relations and areas of mutual interest.
According to a statement from the Afghan embassy in Doha, Jah also oversees Gambian diplomatic affairs related to Afghanistan.
The meeting focused on Afghanistan-Gambia relations, the current security situation in Afghanistan, and potential investment opportunities in the country.
Both sides also exchanged views on strengthening diplomatic engagement and exploring future economic cooperation.
Mahmood Khan Achakzai, a member of Pakistan’s National Assembly and head of the Pakhtunkhwa Awami National Party, has said that if capable statesmen had been in power, people living on both sides of the Durand Line could have moved freely across the line.
Speaking during a podcast interview, Achakzai said that countries with histories of major conflict, including Russia, Germany and the United Kingdom, now maintain far more open borders despite past wars. He said that in many such regions, only a “paper line” remains, with limited border restrictions.
Drawing comparisons with the disputed Durand Line boundary between Afghanistan and Pakistan, Achakzai argued that a similar arrangement could have been possible in South Asia.
“What is the problem here? A Punjabi could dance in Kandahar and a Pashtun could come here. Even if we are not formally one country, we could have effectively functioned like one,” he said.
The Pakistani politician also referred to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the later U.S.-led intervention, saying Afghanistan has the right to seek war reparations from those countries to support reconstruction efforts.
Achakzai further criticised the treatment of Pashtuns in Pakistan, alleging that individuals in cities including Lahore and Karachi have faced detention and deportation.
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