TEHRAN/ISLAMABAD, 19 June 2003 — The presidents of Afghanistan, Iran and Uzbekistan have signed a trilateral agreement yesterday in Tehran, to improve transportation links, the news network Khabar reported.
Afghanistan’s Hamid Karzai, Iran’s Mohammad Khatami, and Uzbekistan’s Islam Karimov signed a draft agreement on building a road from Iran to Central Asia via Afghanistan and Uzbekistan through the “Rahgozar” corridor. The three presidents described the agreement as historical as just a few years ago Afghanistan, ruled first by a pro-Soviet regime and later by the Taleban, could not have dreamed of realizing such a project.
Iran pledged $43 million for the construction of a 125-km road connecting northeast Iran to the Afghan city Herat. Another $4 million was pledged to build a bridge at Milak.
Iran also plans to establish a rail link from Torbat Haydarieh in the eastern province of Khorassan to Afghanistan’s Sangan and Herat regions, giving Afghanistan a link to a deep-water port.
Meanwhile, the Afghan Islamic Press reported yesterday that a statement purported to be from rebel Afghan leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar slammed a draft constitution being drawn up in the country as a game of the “puppet government.” “The game of constitution making by (the) Afghan puppet government is a joke and farce like the Loya Jirga,” the statement said, referring to the tribal assembly which created the current 18-month transitional government last year.
