Kyrgyzstan's Ministry of Transport and Communications successfully implemented a pilot transport project on April 24, utilizing a 2,000-mile Kyrgyzstan–China–Pakistan route to access Pakistan's Karachi port, bypassing Afghanistan. This initiative provides a new, secure trade corridor for land-locked Central Asian countries, expanding their international logistics role and foreign trade.
Islamabad no longer considers Afghanistan a primary transit gateway due to persistent security risks, frequent border skirmishes, and militant group presence, leading to an "open war" declaration and Operation Ghazab lil Haq against Afghanistan-based groups in February. Consequently, Pakistan has activated alternative trade corridors via the People’s Republic of China and Iran. Uzbekistan and Pakistan signed a deal in November 2025 for trade through Pakistan–China–Tajikistan–Uzbekistan and Pakistan–China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan routes. Pakistan also dispatched its first export to Uzbekistan through Iran in April. These new routes, though some longer, offer greater security and cost-effectiveness compared to the uncertain future of stalled Trans-Afghan projects like the $4.8 billion Uzbekistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan (UAP) railway and the $10 billion Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan–India (TAPI) gas pipeline, both delayed by conflict.
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