THE WAKHAN CORRIDOR AND THE CHANGING GEOPOLITICS OF ASIA: STRATEGIC, ECONOMIC, AND SECURITY IMPLICATIONS FOR PAKISTAN AND REGIONAL COUNTRIES UNDER THE U.S. POLICY TOWARD ASIA
Keywords:
Afghanistan, Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China, Central Asia, China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), Economic Integration, Gwadar Port, India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), Indo-Pacific Strategy, Karakoram Highway (KKH), Regional Connectivity, United States, Wakhan CorridorAbstract
The Wakhan Corridor is a narrow strip of north-eastern Afghanistan bordering China; currently, it is emerging as an important geo-strategic, geopolitical, and geo-economic center for the new-structuring the future economic structure of Asian countries. Historically, this area has played its role as a buffer zone during the nineteenth-century British-Russian enmity. Recently, the area has regained its strategic status by becoming the center of regional connectivity and the main focus area of major powers. This article examines the strategic importance of the Wakhan Corridor, its economic implications for Afghanistan, Central Asia, Russia, Iran, Pakistan, South Asia, the Gulf countries, and the influence of U.S. strategic economic, political, and security priorities in the broader region of Asia and connectivity projects. The study argues that the corridor represents both an opportunity for regional integration and the potential to become an area of geopolitical, security, and economic competition among major and regional powers of the world, i.e, the USA, China, Russia, Pakistan, and India.
