NEW DELHI: India’s newly signed deal to operate Iran’s port of Chabahar is expected to provide New Delhi a gateway to landlocked Afghanistan and Central Asia and possibly compete with Pakistan’s Gwadar, analysts said on Tuesday. 

The 10-year contract under which India will invest $120 million in Chabahar’s infrastructure was signed in Tehran on Monday between the state-owned Indian Ports Global Limited and the Port & Maritime Organization of Iran.

India’s Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonowal welcomed the deal saying the development of Chabahar was an “India-Iran flagship project” and the port would be a “gateway for trade with Afghanistan and broader Central Asian countries.”

New Delhi’s commitment to Chabahar started in May 2016 when Iran, India, and Afghanistan signed a trilateral transit agreement to develop the port into a regional trade hub.

“The signing of the deal signifies the strength of bilateral ties between India and Iran,” said D.P. Srivastava, who was India’s ambassador to Iran when talks on the project started. “The present agreement will build on progress achieved so far.”

India’s 2016 involvement in Chabahar came after Washington eased sanctions on Iran, which were reimposed by Donald Trump’s administration in 2018.

After the signing of Monday’s agreement, US State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters sanctions on Iran remained in place and Washington would enforce them.

Prof. Sujata Ashwarya from the Center for West Asian Studies at Jamia Millia Islamia in New Delhi said it was not likely that sanctions would affect India, as its presence was helping deter China — the main rival of the US — from becoming involved in the Iranian port.

“(India) will effectively keep China out of the project,” Ashwarya said. “If we are there, then China won’t be there, and the US would not impose sanctions.”

Located in Iran’s southeast, Chabahar is less than 100 km from Gwadar in southwestern Pakistan, a flagship project of the multibillion-dollar China–Pakistan Economic Corridor under Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative.

Ashwarya said the Iranian port could be Gwadar’s potential competitor.

“It is an investment in trade facilitation with an eye on making Chabahar a hub,” she said.

“It provides competition to Gwadar, it could potentially lead to a secured corridor to Afghanistan and Central Asia, which means that India’s trade with these regions can flourish and broaden.”

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Hajj Mission has hired seven catering companies in Madinah to oversee food arrangements for pilgrims, state media said on Tuesday, as people arrive in Saudi Arabia’s holy cities from around the world for the upcoming annual pilgrimage in June. 

Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam and requires every adult Muslim to undertake the journey to the holy Islamic sites in Makkah at least once in their lifetime if they are financially and physically able. 

Pakistan has a Hajj quota of 179,210 pilgrims this year, of which 63,805 people will perform the pilgrimage under the government scheme, while the rest will use private tour operators.

This year’s pilgrimage is expected to run from June 14-19. Pakistani state media reported on Monday that over 9,844 pilgrims had arrived in Madinah via 40 flights since Hajj air operations were launched on May 9.

“Pakistan’s Hajj Mission in Madinah Munawwarah has selected the top seven catering companies to provide three-time meals to the intending Hajj pilgrims,” Radio Pakistan reported. 

Pakistan Hajj Mission Director Zia-ur-Rehman Khan told Radio Pakistan the mission had selected seven catering companies out of 29 after a competitive and transparent bidding process. The hiring process started in November 2023 after the mission received approval from Pakistan’s federal cabinet. A five-member committee headed by the director-general of Hajj in Jeddah was subsequently formed to scrutinize bidders and select the best catering companies, Radio Pakistan said. 

Umer Rasheed, the production manager of the Bahar Harr catering service, said the company was preparing meals for 2,800 Pakistani pilgrims currently and the number was likely to swell to 4,000 during peak Hajj season. 

“He said inspection teams from 5-6 Saudi departments, including Food and Drugs, the Firefighting department and the Commerce Ministry, conducted regular visits to their production sites and kitchen, showing zero tolerance for any kind of negligence,” Radio Pakistan said.