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#Pakistan's arrest of anti-#China militant felt from #Beijing to #Tehran. "Pakistan hopes that China will put pressure on #Iran over the issue of its support of #Baloch militancy" #CPEC #SaudiArabia #India - Nikkei Asia https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/Terrorism/Pakistan-s-arrest-of-ant...
Meanwhile, Imam's arrest, the details of which remain a mystery, could have geopolitical implications. Although the BNA says he was caught in Turkey, most experts and security officials interviewed by Nikkei agree he had been operating out of Iran.
Kiyya Baloch believes it is no accident that Imam's detention was announced as Beijing brokers an Iran-Saudi rapprochement. "Pakistan hopes that China will put pressure on Tehran over the issue of support of Baloch militancy through its newly formed role of a peace broker," he added.
Experts say Tehran does not consider anti-Islamabad groups enemies and sees them as potentially useful allies against other hostile groups. But Luke Przybyszewski, president of the Abhaseed Foundation Fund, a Polish group of Middle East experts, said the situation presented by the arrest of Imam has created some room for mediation by Beijing.
"It's not a black-and-white situation in which Beijing would resort to just disciplining Iran," he told Nikkei, "but rather could see this as another diplomatic opportunity to increase its regional role."
Przemyslaw Lesinski, an expert on Afghanistan and Iran at the War Studies Academy in Warsaw, said Beijing would like to see regional proxy conflicts come to an end. "We can be quite certain that China will put pressure not only on Iran but also on other [players] in the region, too," he said, suggesting Beijing would be a beneficiary of security cooperation between Tehran and Islamabad.
Is the US attacking Chabahar?
Yes, the United States military is actively conducting airstrikes against targets in the Iranian port city of Chabahar. The assault represents a major geographic expansion of the ongoing U.S.–Iran conflict beyond the narrow confines of the Strait of Hormuz, shifting operations directly out onto Iran’s southeastern Indian Ocean coast.The attacks in Chabahar are part of a wider, heavy multi-day bombing campaign and naval blockade ordered by President Donald Trump. U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) states that the operations are designed to degrade Iranian capabilities used to threaten commercial shipping.Target Profile and Damage in ChabaharMaritime Traffic Control Tower: The primary target in Chabahar was the city's marine observation and traffic control center. Local authorities confirmed the structure suffered significant damage and sent thick plumes of smoke over the harbor.Port Infrastructure Status: Despite damage to the control tower and two docking facilities, Iranian officials state that the core cargo sectors (Shahed Beheshti and Shahed Kalantari ports) remain structurally functional for shipping.Daylight Assaults: Notably, the U.S. military broke its pattern of purely overnight raids to launch rare daytime airstrikes directly against Chabahar's maritime infrastructure.
The query also sought details of the total investments made by India for the development of the port since May 2015 till March 2026.
The Chabahar Port project was conceptualised to provide much-needed connectivity to Afghanistan for its reconstruction and economic development, as well as to boost trade and economic linkages of India with Central Asia, Singh said.
An Indian government-owned company, India Ports Global Limited (IPGL), through its wholly-owned subsidiary, India Ports Global Chabahar Free Zone (IPGCFZ), has been operating the port since 2018.
“As per the provisions of the main contract signed between IPGL and the Ports and Maritime Organisation (PMO) of Iran on May 13, 2024, India has fulfilled its financial commitment of USD 120 million towards the project. The final tranche of this amount was transferred to PMO in August 2025,” he said.
As the conditional sanctions waiver granted by the US for the Chabahar Port project ended on April 26, “the government remains engaged with all concerned stakeholders to address the implications of this development”, the MoS said. PTI KND ARB ARB
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its contents
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