Shahbaz Sharif
Tehran: After India's Operation Sindoor, Pakistan's PM Shahbaz Sharif and Army Chief Asim Munir, who had set out to woo Iran in the name of Muslim Ummah, had to return from Tehran empty-handed. The Pakistani PM made a sharp statement on Gaza and Israel to please Iran, but in return he got disappointment from Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Syed Ali Khamenei. Khamenei only said that Iran hopes that the dispute between India and Pakistan will be resolved. This is the same Khamenei who had raised the issue of Kashmir by tweeting some time ago. Even during Operation Sindoor, Iran had made a lot of efforts to bring peace between Pakistan and India. In fact, when the Pakistani PM and Munir were meeting the Iranian leadership, at the same time India made a big announcement regarding Iran's Chabahar Port.
According to media report, India has announced that it will expand the capacity of Chabahar Port. It will be connected to the rail network by mid-2026. India has made this announcement at a time when there is a threat of sanctions from America. It is believed that with this announcement India has also given a strong message to the Trump administration. India's government company oversees the operation of Iran's Chabahar Port. Despite the threat of US sanctions, both India and Iran are expanding the Chabahar Port together.
Earlier, the US had given exemption to Chabahar Port from sanctions but now it is in danger of ending. Chabahar Port is in the Gulf of Oman and India is developing it as a response to Pakistan's Chinese Gwadar Port. Work is underway to increase the capacity of Chabahar Port to 100,000 TEUs. Apart from this, work is also being done rapidly on a 700 km track to connect Chabahar Port to Zahedan with the Iranian railway network. It is being told that this track will be ready by the middle of next year.
Sources associated with this entire development said, 'Things are moving forward but not at the speed we want. But we are on the right track so that success can be achieved by next year.' After the construction of this rail link, India and Iran will be able to use this port as a gateway for the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC). This will increase access to Central Asian and Eurasian countries. This was discussed during the recent visit of Iran's Foreign Minister during Operation Sindoor.
In May last year, India and Iran signed a 10-year agreement on Chabahar Port. India will invest about $120 million in this port. Apart from this, India has offered a loan of $250 million so that the area around this port can be developed. Earlier in February, the US administration had announced that it could end the exemption given for Chabahar Port. However, America has not taken any such action so far. Talks are going on between America and Iran on the nuclear issue.
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