Wakhan Corridor A New Road Of Game Changer

The Wakhan Corridor played an important part in the so-called "Great Game" between Great Britain and Russia in the late nineteenth century. "Afghanistan was highly vital when the Russians and the British were battling for control of Central Asia," Willcox said. "The Wakhan's present limits were established in 1893 to provide a buffer zone between the domains of both sides - in this case, the British Raj and the Tsarist Russian empire." It successfully transformed a once-busy commerce route into a trade game changer road. More recently, the Wakhan was caught up in the Cold War, and now the newest developments in geopolitics may have an unexpected result, with China's Belt and Road Initiative re-establishing it as a vital commercial route."

“A new road connecting Afghanistan's Wakhan Corridor with China, Wakhan Corridor is poised to experience substantial change with the development of a new road connecting it to China”

New construction

Ishkashim could only be reached via the dirt track until recently at Sarhad-e Broghil in the middle of the Corridor. The only way to travel east was on foot or with a pack animal. However, thanks to Belt and Road work, the track has been expanded by 75 kilometers, all the way to the village of Bonzai Gumbaz, which is approximately 3 quarter of the way down the Wakhan. Summers explained, "It follows a historic trading route that Kyrgyz nomads use to travel to Sarhad from where they dwell around Chaqmaqtin Lake,". Bulldozers have rolled in, and while they've only assembled a track the size of a farmer's, the potential implications are much greater. The Chinese are claimed to be constructing the section that would eventually connect their border with Bozai Gumbaz, which will reopen the cul-de-sac. Ultimately, it will provide China with significant access to Central Asian and other markets." 

Home of the Wakhi

The Wakhan Corridor has been the Wakhi people's motherland for more than 2,500 years, and it today has approximately a population of 12,000 people. The Wakhi are Ismailis, who adhere to the Shia religious community, while the majority of Afghans are devout Sunni Muslims. The Wakhi women do not wear the burqa and do not visit mosques; instead, they frequent jamatkhanas (A place of prayer that also serves as community halls for conducting village business). "Ismailis are seen to be less stringent than Sunnis," Willcox remarked. for Instant,  "In the Wakhan, a Western male tourist isn’t allowed to take wakhi ladies' pictures and must seek permission to photograph a lady without offending her." That would be inconceivable in other parts of Afghanistan.

The Life in Wakhan

Their fields are irrigated with meltwater flowing from mountain glaciers, which they use to cultivate their crops of wheat, barley, peas, potatoes, apples, and apricots. All the animals including sheep and goats, as well as a few camels, yaks, horses, and donkeys, are kept by wealthier families. "Every June, the Wakhi migrate their cattle to summer pastures up to 4,500 meters above sea level, where the animals grow more fatten up on the lush grass," Ziahee explained. "The 'Kuch is the name given to the migration. They do have the 'Chinir,' a celebration held in early August to mark the beginning of the barley harvest. The five daily prayers constitute the framework of the day in Afghan towns, but here, people have a strong relationship with the land, and while they pray every day, the rhythm of life swings mostly around the farms, seasons, and natural environment."

Village Life 

Small rural villages like Khandud (shown) are strewn along the Wakhan Corridor, their modest dwellings built of stone, mud, and lumber. Some of the bigger communities are linked by a solitary dirt road, which is sometimes impassable due to the River Panj's flooding. "Very few people have their automobile in the Wakhan, But they have communal transportation, while also donkeys and, of course, they are used to travel mostly by their feet "Azim Ziahee, a resident of Ishkashim, At the end of the town there is a market town located 80 kilometers west of the Corridor, "The Wakhan, on the other hand, is still highly isolated. Some communities are more than a four-day trek away from Ishkashim. The next large town, Dushanbe, Tajikistan's capital, is a three-day trip away. The solitude preserves the passageway as if it were a time capsule. We say that gazing across the border to Tajikistan, with its power, paved roads, and cellular phone connection, is like seeing 100 decades into the future." Much difference can be seen in most communities of the Wakhans in comparison to rural and urban lives.

 

An Untouched Tourism Place

Although much of Afghanistan is off-limits to tourists due to security concerns, the corridor's comparative safety, along with its magnificent mountain beauty and well-preserved Wakhi culture, has increased its allure with off-the-beaten-path travelers significantly in recent years. "At initially, there were just a few people," Ade Summers, an adventure guide who has led nine excursions to the Wakhan, explained. "Over a decade, that number has gradually increased to up to 600 persons every year. It's a joy to explore somewhere so far from conventional tourists, where you can interact with people who cherish their traditions, culture, and way of life. The Wakhan is not just magnificent, however, every step you take is like having a book of fascinating history and feelings are just like every move you make is just turning pages of the fascinating book and exploring the wakhan valley."

Silk Road

Throughout the first and second centuries BCE, merchants traveling along the Silk Road traveled along the Wakhan Corridor, providing an important route between China and the Mediterranean. "Those traders brought Chinese silk, Persian silver as well as the Roman gold, and Afghan lapis lazuli mined in the Badakhshan region," Summers explained. "We do notice that the  rock art chronicling the history of the route, such as petroglyphs showing camels marching in single file as a trading caravan." In the footsteps of the merchants, travelers and pilgrims have followed. There is a history of Marco Polo and Alexander the Great passing through here on their journeys to China. The remains of ancient Buddhist stupas as well as historic travelers' shelters, or rabats, can still be seen with traveling on the silk road."

“China enters the Afghan Great Game, outflanking India”.

The most recent activity of the Wakhan which also provides a clear vision regarding Wakhan Corridor's importance is that “China has boosted its presence in Afghanistan by reopening a vital land crossing. It's a move with security ramifications for India, which is also striving to keep its footing in the region.

For Pakistan As previously said, in addition to CPEC, there will be another alternative, as well as a new trade route with Afghanistan. Because Islamabad has an unmet goal of transitioning from geostrategic to geo-economics, the two new trading corridors will be an innovative option for linking Afghanistan's customers and Central Asian countries with the larger globe in the Indian Ocean area and beyond. It now ultimately boils down to Pakistan's leaders' perspective and execution, as well as the wisdom and political resolve of the Taliban-led Afghanistan, to turn this mega dream into a realistic reality.