These are all salutary objectives however, three concerns must be acknowledged. First and foremost, the three countries are at various stages of development and in such cases the benefits of enhanced economic co-operation would naturally tilt in favour of the relatively more developed country. Turkey as the most developed country amongst the three, is likely to be the major contributor to the other two countries infrastructure projects.
This is not necessarily undesirable however, care must be taken to ensure that public procurement rules are adhered to and some form of joint venture in cross-border investment is promoted that would ensure local capacity building. At the other end of the spectrum is Afghanistan which has few goods to trade. Secondly, Turkey is not contiguous to Pakistan or Afghanistan, which would have facilitated the flow of goods and services as the relatively cheaper road transport becomes an option. Previously Turkey, Iran and Pakistan had formed a trading bloc (RCD) to take advantage of their geographical contiguity. Unfortunately, given Iran's current isolation led by the United States and Turkey's increasing role in international affairs, the prospect of Iran as a possible member is unlikely. And thirdly, MoUs are non-binding agreements and past history shows that several of MoUs signed by the government have simply not been implemented. Thus the three governments would have to proactively pursue the objectives of the TTC to ensure that it produces the results envisaged.
Turkey has emerged as a time-tested friend of Pakistan. In contrast Afghanistan's current leadership notably Hamid Karzai has lost few opportunities of publicly berating Pakistan for what he, together with the leadership of Isaf forces operating on Afghan soil, claims is providing sanctuaries to Afghan Taliban, which accounts for their continued failure to bring peace to the war-torn country. In addition Karzai, together with the United States, placed considerable pressure on the Pakistani government to open Wagha border for Afghan exports to India.
Pakistan's attraction to this plan was to be allowed transit to Central Asian countries through Afghanistan however, a World Bank study reveals that hitches relating to the payment of hefty bribes to Afghan officials at border posts as well as the continued terror threat posed by the Taliban remain major impediments to the smooth flow of goods and services through Afghanistan. Be that as it may, the lure of trade expansion implicitly implies a win-win situation for nation states which, in turn, may well pave the way for the resolution of all outstanding conflicts. Pakistan and Afghanistan have emerged as countries with one disturbing feature in common: Taliban terror threats that President Asif Ali Zardari maintained reflected a mindset that can only be changed through education. One would hope that the TTC also looks at raising the literacy rates in Taliban strongholds through development projects and increased employment opportunities in the region.