KABUL: The opening of a new rail link between Iran and Afghanistan will increase not only trade but also Tehran’s political influence on the land-locked nation, officials and experts believe.
The 140 km rail line from Khawaf in eastern Iran to western Afghanistan opened on Thursday, providing a transport link that will allow Afghan goods to reach Iranian ports on the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman. The rail line also offers Iran another route into Central Asia.
“Iran has increased its involvement here because it will benefit for years to come from its imports here and to Central Asia,” Afghan MP Fawzia Zaki told Arab News on Friday.
The rail link was inaugurated in a virtual ceremony by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who said that it would “strengthen relations between Afghanistan and Iran.”
The line spans 70 km in Iran and 60 km in Afghanistan, with Afghan authorities planning to lengthen it by 80 km to reach the city of Herat and its industrial park, which has become a trading hub with Iran and Central Asia in recent years.
Local officials estimate that Afghanistan can import 2 million tons of goods annually from Iran via the Khawaf-Herat link. Besides freight, the railway will also carry passengers.
“The corridor can unlock the untapped trade potential of Afghanistan and pave the way for economic growth,” Ahmad Samin, a former adviser to the World Bank, told Arab News.
According to Shamrooz Khan Masjidi, spokesman for Afghanistan’s finance ministry, the project also will reduce Kabul’s dependence on Islamabad for trade.
“It will more than anything reduce reliance on Pakistan. It’s part of our regional connectivity mega-plan. Afghanistan needs affordable and connected transportation for its economic growth and trade balance. Railways offer that platform. We can connect not only with Iran but also the wider region,” he said.
However, while the rail link is expected to make Kabul less reliant on Pakistan, it is likely to increase Iran’s political influence.
“Iran is an important trading partner with Afghanistan and the Khawaf-Herat railway will further strengthen the two countries’ economic and political relationship,” analyst Shakib Noori said.
The Afghan government will have to improve its security and ensure the railway does not become a “soft target for terrorist groups,” he added.
Torek Farhadi, a former adviser for the International Monetary Fund, told Arab News that trade with Iran is a “geostrategic imperative” for Afghanistan since it offers “more options for imports from international markets.”
“Reducing reliance on Pakistan makes both political and business sense,” he said.
Another political analyst, Nasratullah Haqpal, said that “Iran is keen to deepen its influence and economic ties in Afghanistan because of its untapped resources and other opportunities in the region.”
He said that the US also believes the Iranian port of Chabahar has a pivotal role in outweighing China’s massive infrastructure investment in Pakistan.
“The US wants to decrease Beijing’s role in development projects in the region and therefore has not included Chabahar in its sanctions,” Haqpal said.
Afghan rail link ‘expands Iran influence’
https://arab.news/mqvpn
Afghan rail link ‘expands Iran influence’
- The line spans 70 km in Iran and 60 km in Afghanistan, with Afghan authorities planning to lengthen it by 80 km to reach the city of Herat
I want answers from my ex-husband, Gisele Pelicot tells AFP
- Gisele Pelicot, the French woman who became a symbol in the global fight against sexual violence, told AFP why she wants to visit her ex-husband in jail and her joy at finding love again
PARIS: Gisele Pelicot, the French woman who became a symbol in the global fight against sexual violence, told AFP why she wants to visit her ex-husband in jail and her joy at finding love again.
In an interview ahead of the publication of her memoirs on Tuesday, she also said she hopes to inspire other rape victims to believe in a brighter future — and to change attitudes along the way.
Her book, titled “A Hymn to Life,” covers the full arc of her 50-year marriage which ended when she discovered that her husband had been repeatedly drugging her and inviting strangers over to their house to rape her.
It will be published in 22 languages.
The title of your book in French is “And the joy of living.” Have you found joy again?
“I’m doing better. After the trial (of her husband and 50 other men in 2024), I took stock of my life and today I am trying to rebuild on this field of ruins.
Despite all these ordeals, even in the darkest periods, I have always sought flashes of joy; I am looking toward the future, toward joy. I know this may surprise some who expect to see me in tatters, but I am determined to remain standing and dignified.”
Some describe you as an icon. Do you embrace that status?
“I do not use that word. I think my story has become a symbol. I know where I come from and who I am. It seems to me that we do not suspect the strength we have inside us until we are forced to draw on it, and that is also what I would like to say to victims.”
Why did you write this book?
“I needed to bear witness to my life journey, to address all those who supported me; it was a way of responding to them. Writing this book with (French author) Judith Perrignon, in whom I had complete trust, was both painful and fascinating.
Beyond the case itself, it retraces my life, the journey of three generations of women: my grandmother, my mother and myself. Their example explains my strength because I experienced tragedies very young. When you lose your mother at age nine, you grow up faster than others.”
Have you had professional psychological help to overcome your trauma?
“Of course, I could not get through this alone. How do you sort through 50 years of memories tainted by this series of crimes? I lived for half a century with Mr. Pelicot and I have no memory of the rapes, only the memory of happy days.
I cannot throw my whole life in the bin and tell myself that those years were nothing but a lie. If I did that, I’d collapse.”
At the end of the book, you announce your intention to visit Mr.Pelicot in prison. Why?
“I would like to do it for myself. That visit would be a stage in my reconstruction, an opportunity, for the first time since his arrest in November 2020, to confront him face to face.
How could he have done this to me? How could he have put our entire family through hell? What did he do to (our daughter) Caroline? He may not answer my questions, but I need to ask them.
For the moment, no date has been set for the visit. I do not think it will take place before the end of the year.”
In the book, you speak about your relationships with your three children. Where do they stand?
“It is wrong to think that such a tragedy brings a family together. It is impossible. Each of my children is now trying to rebuild as best they can.
Caroline’s suffering devastates me. She is in a state of anger that I do not share. And there is this doubt (about whether she was raped by her father) that condemns her to a perpetual hell.
I do not question her word, but I do not have the answers. Today, our relationship is calmer and I am happy about that. I will try to support her as best I can.”
Do you intend to remain a public figure?
“I am in my 74th year. I long for calm. I am not a radical feminist; I am a feminist in my own way. I know there is still a long way to go, despite progress on consent. I leave it to the younger generations to change this patriarchal society.
We can pass all the laws we want, but if we do not change mindsets, we will not succeed. That therefore begins above all with the education of our children. Parents must get involved.”
You are about to begin a tour to present your book. With what message?
“A message of hope. After hardship, you can once again allow yourself happiness and be happy. That is what I am doing. I am lucky enough to love again — it is magnificent. I think a life without love is a life without sunshine.”
