Central Asian states are rapidly deepening ties with Pakistan, signaling a historic shift after decades of mistrust. As reported in Eurasia Net, a mix of economic ambition and shared security concerns is pushing former rivals into a new era of cooperation.
Kyrgyzstan’s President Sadyr Japarov set the tone with a landmark December 3–4 visit to Islamabad — the first by a Kyrgyz leader in over twenty years. The trip produced agreements spanning trade, education, tourism, energy and agriculture. A business forum held alongside the visit drew strong interest from Pakistani companies, even though bilateral trade remains strikingly low at just $16 million in 2024. Officials from both sides nevertheless voiced confidence they can raise turnover to $200 million by 2027–28.
Security dominated the agenda, especially Afghanistan. The Taliban’s return to power — once a source of bitter division between Pakistan and Central Asian governments — is now pushing them into closer alignment. Islamabad and Bishkek, according to Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry, jointly urged the Taliban authorities to honor their international commitments and emphasized the need for a “peaceful and stable Afghanistan.” Japarov’s office added that both nations intend to intensify cooperation against extremism and transnational crime spilling out of the Afghan theater.
Other Central Asian states are moving in the same direction. Tajikistan, rattled by recent cross-border attacks from militants operating beyond Taliban control, has stepped up engagement with Pakistan on intelligence sharing and border security. Uzbekistan, already Pakistan’s biggest regional trading partner, has dramatically expanded business outreach throughout 2025, with both sides targeting $2 billion in mid-term turnover. Kazakhstan, too, is accelerating its pivot: trade more than doubled in early 2025 to $90 million, and President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s planned January visit is expected to push annual exchanges toward the desired $1 billion mark.
Underlying this surge in diplomacy is a race to build reliable land and rail corridors. Central Asian states want direct access to Pakistani seaports as a gateway to global markets. Uzbekistan and Pakistan have already agreed to develop trade routes running through China, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, though they are hampered by logistical choke points. A more efficient alternative — a trans-Afghan railway — remains stuck in the planning phase, as security risks overshadow its economic promise.
Taken together, these developments mark one of the region’s most significant geopolitical realignments in years. What once looked like an entrenched divide is now giving way to a pragmatic convergence driven by trade, transit and a volatile Afghanistan at the center of it all.
