KABUL: After decades of talks, Afghanistan finally broke ground last monthon a $7.5 billion gas pipeline that will run through areas controlled bythe Taliban. Even more surprising: The militant group is backing theproject.
The Taliban “deems it its responsibility to revive foundational economicand reconstruction work in the country and asks international constructioncompanies to help the Afghans in this regard,” Zabihullah Mujahed, aspokesman, said in a statement last month, noting that talks on thepipeline dated back to when the Taliban governed the nation.
The endorsement from a group that has fought the US-backed government inKabul for the past 17 years raises a slight hope for a political settlementeven as violence continues to rage. President Ashraf Ghani last weekpresented his most comprehensive peace offering yet to the Taliban, whichcontrols or contests nearly half the country. He’s open to recognizing thegroup as a political movement and would help remove international sanctions.
“After the project’s completion, it will have some sort of positive impacton peace talks between the Taliban and the government,” said Harun Mir, apolitical analyst in Kabul. “The Taliban who live there can benefit too andthat may open the gate for talks.”
The Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India pipeline will eventually carryan annual 33 billion cubic meters of gas, creating thousands of jobs andgenerating more than $400 million in annual revenue for the cash-strappedgovernment in Kabul. State-owned Turkmengaz, Afghan Gas Enterprise and GAILIndia Ltd are among companies working on the project.
The Afghan section of the pipeline — about 500 miles passing through someTaliban-controlled areas — is scheduled to be finished in two years. Itwill then reach Pakistan before crossing its heavily fortified border withIndia.
Ensuring security will be crucial as its runs along a highway in southernAfghanistan that has been beset by frequent attacks. Its success alsohinges on regional cooperation among countries that have less than rosyrelations.
“We will have no any enmity relations with any country in the future,”Ghani told a hundreds-strong audience in Herat at a ceremony attended byTurkmenistan President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, Pakistan’s PrimeMinister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and MJ Akbar, India’s junior external affairsminister. “We just want to secure our national interest.”
Ghani didn’t detail security arrangements and only briefly suggested thatlocal authorities would be responsible for the pipeline’s safety.
*Cash incentives*
Ghani’s government has expressed skepticism of the Taliban’s intentions.The administration won’t make payments to the Taliban and it’s “premature”to trust their assurances, according to Dawa Khan Menapal, a presidentialspokesman.
“Families, friends and relatives of Taliban can use it as well — so it’stheir responsibility to protect and defend any national projects,” Menapalsaid.
Ghani has a lot riding on the project’s success. His administration hasstruggled to implement any meaningful economic gains in the midst ofworsening violence across the country. – BLOOMBERG