A trade route that India deliberately designed to leave Pakistan on the outside has now become one of Islamabad's top targets. Pakistan is actively looking for a way into the International North-South Transport Corridor, or INSTC — and in a surprising twist, India's long-time partner Russia appears to be openly backing that bid.
What Pakistan Wants, and Why Russia Is On Board
Pakistan's Energy Minister, Sardar Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari, said plainly during a webinar that his country wants to become part of the INSTC. He welcomed a statement from Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk that floated the idea of linking Pakistan's Gwadar port to the corridor. In other words, a network whose entire purpose was to sideline Pakistan is now the one Pakistan is preparing to break into.
Understanding the INSTC
The INSTC is a roughly 7,200-kilometre multi-modal trade network that stitches together sea, rail and road routes. Its core aim is to make the movement of goods between India, Iran, Russia, Central Asia and Northern Europe both faster and cheaper. India is counted among the project's founding members and has been advancing it through Iran's Chabahar port. The biggest strategic payoff for New Delhi has always been simple: a direct line to Central Asia and Russia that does not run through Pakistan.
The Gwadar Gateway
Pakistan's plan hinges on turning Gwadar port into its key into the network. Gwadar is already a major hub of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and of China's sweeping Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). If Gwadar is tied into the INSTC as Russia envisions, a fresh and far stronger connectivity web could take shape between China, Pakistan and Russia — which is exactly why this development is being read as strategically significant.
Does India Lose Its Edge?
For now, nothing of the sort seems to be happening — but the move is still a reason for India to stay strategically alert. The real backbone of the INSTC remains the India-Iran-Russia route. Iran's Chabahar port continues to sit at the heart of the project, an asset India has invested heavily in and whose strategic value remains fully intact. That said, Pakistan's attempt does signal one thing clearly: it is knocking on new doors to plug itself into regional trade networks.
India's Many Other Options
Experts point out that in this race for connectivity, India is not betting on a single project. It has a vast domestic market, a robust maritime network, sway across the Indian Ocean, deep ties with West Asia and several alternative connectivity projects in hand. On top of that, India is working on big-ticket plans like the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), which are being viewed as the trade routes of the future.
A Warming Russia-Pakistan Equation
Leghari also revealed that Russia and Pakistan are set to sign an economic cooperation programme running through 2030. The two are pushing to expand collaboration across trade, energy, defence, technology and security. He claimed that over the past few years, ties between Pakistan and Russia have moved from the status of an 'unfriendly country' to that of a 'trusted friend', and noted that the two nations are steadily deepening their coordination at forums such as the United Nations and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).
