Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani on Sunday said that he would take up the Pakistan-Tajikistan road project with Afghan President Hamid Karzai during the forthcoming SAARC Summit to be held in Maldives next month. The Prime Minister was talking to Gilgit-Baltistan Governor Pir Karam Ali Shah, who called on him at Prime Minister House here. He said that the completion of project would provide the shortest possible route to the people of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Tajikistan, besides reinvigorating their historical, cultural and trade ties spread over hundreds of years.
The road project as visualized will connect Pakistan with Tajikistan by passing through eight kilometer long Wakhan corridor of Afghanistan.
The Prime Minister said the project was compatible with the agenda of SAARC Summit which is called “Connectivity”.
The Prime Minister said it was his vision to develop good relations with the countries of region.
“I visited a number of countries like Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Afghanistan, India, Iran, China and other countries of the Central Asian Republics to further my vision,” he said.
The Prime Minister the said connectivity was intertwined with transit trade and Pakistan was keen to enhance trade with Afghanistan and beyond.
Recalling the signing of Transit Trade Agreement between Pakistan and Afghanistan, he said the trade among the countries of region had to be enhanced for which establishment of road and rail networks was essential.