ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar on Thursday signed a framework agreement to conduct a joint feasibility study for the Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan (UAP) Railway Project in Kabul, in a major push for regional connectivity with Central Asia.
The UAP Railway Project aims to establish a vital trade and transit corridor linking Uzbekistan with Pakistan via Afghanistan, offering the Central Asian republics direct access to Pakistani seaports. The rail link is expected to significantly boost regional connectivity, facilitate trade and contribute to long-term economic integration and political stability in the broader region.
For Pakistan, which seeks to position itself as a regional connectivity hub, the UAP railway is also strategically important in strengthening economic ties with Central Asia and securing stable transit through Afghanistan, a country whose internal security dynamics continue to impact broader regional development goals.
“I congratulate the people & governments of Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Uzbekistan on the signing of the Framework Agreement on the Joint Feasibility Study for the Naibabad–Kharlachi rail link under the Uzbek–Afghan–Pak (UAP) Railway Corridor,” Dar wrote on social media platform X.
Dar described the signing of the agreement as a “major milestone” for advancing regional connectivity and economic integration, pointing out that the project would connect Central Asian countries to Pakistani seaports through Afghanistan.
He thanked the foreign minister of Uzbekistan and Afghanistan for their support in ensuring the timely signing of the framework agreement.
Uzbekistan and Afghanistan signed an agreement in 2017 to extend a railroad connecting the two countries that would eventually give Uzbekistan a direct link to seaports. Landlocked Uzbekistan’s access to marine shipping is very limited.
DAR MEETS AFGHAN LEADERS
Dar, who also serves as Pakistan’s foreign minister, met his Afghan counterpart Amir Khan Muttaqi at the sidelines of the framework agreement signing to discuss bilateral cooperation and security.
He also met Afghan Prime Minister Muhammad Hassan Akhund to discuss trade, security and other matters between the two countries.
“The two leaders exchanged views on issues of mutual interest, including peace and security, trade and transit cooperation and regional connectivity,” Pakistan’s foreign office said in an earlier statement.
Pakistan Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar meets Afghan Prime Minister Mullah Muhammad Hassan Akhund in Kabul on July 17, 2025, on the sidelines of the signing of the Uzbek-Afghan-Pak railway agreement. (Handout/MOFA)
Talks between the two countries’ officials took place amid a tentative thaw in Pakistan-Afghanistan relations, which have been strained in recent years due to a surge in militancy in Pakistan that Islamabad blames on Afghan-based insurgent groups. Kabul denies the allegations.
Efforts to repair the fractured ties between Islamabad and Kabul gained momentum during a China-hosted trilateral dialogue in Beijing in May between the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Afghanistan and China.
Islamabad and Kabul agreed in principle to send ambassadors to each other’s countries as soon as possible, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi had announced after the summit.
The upcoming signing of the UAP railway pact, a long-discussed infrastructure project championed by all three governments, is also being seen as one of the first tangible outcomes of renewed engagement between Islamabad and Kabul.
