ISLAMABAD: Kazakhstan has offered to fully finance a proposed railway corridor linking Central Asia to Pakistan’s seaports via Afghanistan, a move that could accelerate long-delayed regional connectivity plans and strengthen Pakistan’s position as a transit hub.
Kazakh Ambassador to Pakistan Yerzhan Kistafin said his country is ready to fund the entire project, describing it as a commercial investment rather than foreign assistance.
“We are not asking Pakistan for any financial contribution. This is a mutually beneficial project,” Kistafin said in an interview with Geo News.
Under the proposal, rail cargo would move from Kazakhstan through Turkmenistan into western Afghanistan before entering Pakistan at Chaman and connecting with the national railway network, eventually reaching the ports of Karachi and Gwadar.
Pakistan has long sought overland access to Central Asia, offering its ports to landlocked economies as part of a broader regional integration strategy. Progress has been slowed by security concerns and periodic disruptions along the Afghan border, including temporary closures that suspended transit trade last year.
The ambassador said Afghanistan would serve as a transit partner under the plan, adding that economic cooperation could help improve regional stability.
According to Geo News, the Afghan segment of the railway would span around 687 kilometres and could take about three years to complete once intergovernmental agreements are finalized. Kazakhstan is expected to provide the primary financing for construction.
If implemented, the corridor would give Central Asian exporters direct access to warm-water ports while enabling Pakistan to expand trade links with the region.
