‘Safe passage secured’: Three Indian crude oil tankers successfully transit Hormuz, en route to India with over 8.6 lakh MT cargo / Representative picture: IANS

With India-Afghanistan trade stopped "for now" via the strategic Chabahar port in Iran, there are jitters within Afghan traders and the Taliban government in the country after the US attacked the Iranian port that serves as a bridge between India and central Asia and facilitates movement of goods, bypassing Pakistan which has a tense relationship with India.

Speaking to New India Abroad, traders in Afghanistan shared their apprehensions about movement of goods being stopped at the port as of now.

Also Read: Ceasefire with Iran over, talks to continue: Trump

The Chabahar port which had hitherto survived all attacks during the ongoing conflict between Iran and US/Israel was attacked by the US for the first time with the country expanding the conflict which was so far largely limited to Strait of Hormuz and Iran's Gulf coastline.  Sitting outside the Strait of Hormuz, Chabahar is Iran’s only ocean-facing deep-water.

Confirming that the Chabahar port was attacked on Thursday, Mohammed Saeed Arbabi, the chief of the Chabahar Free Zone Organization informed media that the maritime control tower in the port city was "targeted and damaged" in the US attack, Iran’s Fars news agency,  that is considered close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) reported.

According to reports in the Iranian state media, the US military hit a maritime control tower in Chabahar which is on Iran’s southeastern coast and at least two piers had also been damaged at the port along with nearby military assets. They added that the strikes spared the civilian port facilities and critical energy infrastructure.

CNN reported that videos showed damage caused by the attack on the exterior of the building too. 

This came even as images and videos posted on social media have suggested that the maritime traffic control tower at the Shahid Beheshti Port in Chabahar was destroyed. 

Fear among Afghan traders

New India Abroad spoke to several Afghan-based traders who acknowledged that the Chabahar port had suffered serious damage and traders were scared of using the port for transportation of goods as of now.

Afghan traders acknowledged that the damage caused to the Chabahar port poses a serious threat to trade between India and Afghanistan for which the port is a lifeline.

"Traders are afraid to use the port as of now. We hope normalcy prevails but the situation is not very encouraging. The port is very important for India-Afghanistan trade but as of now, traders are apprehensive to use the same," Naveed, an Afghanistan-based trader told New India Abroad exclusively.

Naveed said that as of now, it is air cargo that Afghan traders are dependent on for transportation of goods to India. 

 "Afghan government operates two flights from Kabul to New Delhi everyday. These carry passengers and also cargo and also bring back cargo from New Delhi. There are numerous things that Afghanistan sources from India. These include clothes, medicines, machinery, equipment and many other goods. We import a lot from India. So, damage to Chabahar port has had a negative impact on trade," he said.

Significantly, Naveed (preferred to withhold his full name) said that he has heard that repairs at the Chabahar port will take time.

Sources in the Indian trade community too confirmed that India-Afghanistan trade via the Chabahar port is stopped "as of now."

"Parts of the port have been damaged but they are not beyond repair. Port is functioning but yes, India-Afghanistan trade has been stopped as of now," an Indian trade community leader told New India Abroad.

Sources in the Iranian government however had a different version of the extent of damage caused to the port. An Iranian government source said that while the port facilities have been damaged,
"the India-operated project was neither targeted nor damaged."

"Only the maritime watchtower was damaged, while the port equipment was not affected," said the source.

However, even Afghanistan government officials have voiced concerns over the damage to the Chabahar port and admitted that they have been resorting to the air route for transportation of goods as of now. 

Speaking at an event held in New Delhi on Friday, Mufti Noor Ahmad Noor, the Chargé d'Affaires for the Embassy of Afghanistan in New Delhi said that while the trade relationship between India and Afghanistan has been growing, due to the war between Iran and the US, the entire world has been impacted, leading to challenges.

"The trade relationship between India and Afghanistan has been growing but due to the war between Iran and the US, the entire world has been impacted, leading to challenges. But still, India-Afghanistan traders are working to enhance trade, such that if one route closes, the other opens. If land route is closed, we can transport via the air route and like we have mentioned last time, our trade is crossing USD one billion and we should increase it more," he said.  

Sources in the Indian trade community said that Afghanistan-bound ships leave from the Nhava Sheva and the Kandla ports of India with tonnes of supplies every 15 days and also bring back supplies of dryfruits, fresh fruits, gemstones, spices, etc.    

Why Chabahar matters for India?

The Chabahar port lends multi-faceted advantages to India. Not only is the port a gateway to central Asia which borders Iran, it is also seen as India's answer to Pakistan's Gwadar port.  

The port was first conceived in 2002 and former Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and the then Iranian President Syed Mohammad Khatami had in 2003, signed a roadmap of strategic cooperation which included many projects when the latter was on a visit to India. The most strategic and important of these projects was the Chabahar port.

2016 marked a major chapter in India's relationship with central Asia with India, Iran and Afghanistan signing a trilateral agreement which was followed by the government of India working on developing the port rapidly. Subsequently, the first phase of the Shahid Behesti port was inaugurated in December 2017. 

India has already spent about USD 120 million to develop the Chabahar port but situation changed last year after the Donald Trump administration announced that it was cancelling all exemptions to Iran-related sanctions including for Chabahar.

With India's attempts to seek an extension of the waiver exemption till April 26, 2026 failing, India deemed it fit to temporarily transfer its stake in the Chabahar Free Zone to a local Iranian entity after discussions with the Iranian regime.

The goal was to avoid the economic damage that the renewed US sanctions could cause on New Delhi.

However, sources say that according to the understanding between India and Iran, the condition of the transfer is that, soon after the sanctions are lifted, India would be returned its stake in the strategic port.

 

Discover More At New India Abroad