Congress Calls Chabahar Port Omission a Setback to India's Central Asian Diplomacy

The Congress party criticized the Indian government for not including the Chabahar port in the 2026-27 budget, calling it a second strategic setback to India's Central Asian diplomacy after closing its air force base in Ayni, Tajikistan. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh highlighted that India began investing in Chabahar in the late 1990s to establish a trade route bypassing Pakistan, with significant progress under the Manmohan Singh government. He accused the Modi administration of repackaging earlier initiatives and questioned the current commitment to the port.