K.C. Singh Chabahar deal: Unreal hopes amid twin wars

News Snapshot:

The Indian Ocean-facing Iranian port of Chabahar, the only Iranian port outside the Straits of Hormuz, is back in the news. A 10-year agreement between India and Iran to further develop it, worth $370 million, was signed earlier this week, on May 13. The basic concept for the joint development of Chabahar was first mooted during the 2003 state visit to India by then Iranian President Muhammad Khatami. There was then close strategic convergence between India and Iran. Both saw Pakistan’s active political interference in Afghanistan as detrimental to their interests. Consequently, both backed the Northern Alliance led by Ahmad...