India, Afghanistan to resume direct cargo flights: Anand Prakash

The air freight corridors connecting Kabul with Delhi and Amritsar (in northern India) have been activated. Anand Prakash, joint secretary in the Indian foreign ministry, reported that Cargo flights on these sectors are expected to operate very soon, according to Reuters.

"All formalities from our side are over. We are waiting for all the papers from their (Afghan) side ... Once they complete them, the cargo flights will start," Prakash told Reuters on the sidelines of an India-Afghanistan business conference.

Strategic routes
The immediate resumption of cargo flights, particularly for high-value and perishable Afghan goods, is critical. Although Afghan carriers maintain regular passenger connections, Indian airlines cannot fly directly due to Pakistan's sustained closure of its airspace, a legacy of soaring tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad.

The revival of the air corridor underscores India's long-term strategy of securing stable, direct trade links with Afghanistan. According to the media reports, this goal is being pursued concurrently with the increased focus on utilising Iran's Chabahar Port, which is becoming central to the trade relationship as the primary non-Pakistani sea route.

New Delhi and Kabul are intensifying efforts to ensure the port's full operationalisation to provide a commercially viable transit path for industrial goods and larger consignments.

India and Afghanistan's trade ties are currently in a phase of pragmatic re-engagement. Despite India not formally recognising the current regime in Kabul following the 2021 change in administration, commercial links are being actively revived and strengthened.

Both sides are keen on utilising existing infrastructure and creating new mechanisms, such as trade attachés and joint investment groups, to ensure stability and growth in a relationship marked by an upward trajectory.