Alwaght- Afghanistan is still incapable of following its infrastructural programs including mining, electricity power production at home and building its economic and security infrastructures. In fact, the lack of security in addition to political and security challenges have been barring the Afghan governments from proceeding with the country�s economic growth policies.

Meanwhile, electricity power, an integral part of any country�s development, is produced only by 30 percent in Afghanistan, and Kabul is dependent on electricity imported from the neighboring countries, specifically the Central Asian countries.

In three projects Afghanistan has set to import the necessary electricity from Central Asia states. In the first phase Uzbekistan�s electricity was passed to the northern areas, Herat and then to Kabul the capital through Salang Pass in northeastern Afghanistan.

The second electricity transfer plan is KASA-1000 Project, followed by TUTAP project.

The KASA-1000 Project and then TUTAP allow for transfer of excess electricity of Central Asian countries like Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan to Afghanistan and then to Pakistan. The KASA-1000 Project is set to pass excess electricity from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to Pakistan through Afghanistan territory. This power grid would pass electricity to Pakistan only in hot seasons and so it is without use in the winter.

The Canadian experts of KASA-1000 Project issued a report, suggesting that due to Salang region�s bad weather, the power grid had to get to Pakistan�s territory through another route. The Canadian report, however, was ignored by Fichner Berchna, a German engineering company, and power grid was passed to Afghanistan through Salang Pass near Uzbekistan�s power lines.

Now a third project is launched: TUTAP, dubbed after the acronym of the names of countries involved-Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan. It is a 500 MW electricity transfer plan stretching from Turkmenistan to Pakistan through Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Afghanistan. Pakistan was, however, removed from the project and so Afghanistan is the ultimate destination of the power transfer project. The project is still called TUTAP, however.

The Turkmen electricity would be sent to Pakistan under KASA-1000 Project through the same route. The Central Asian states also intend to send more 500 KW electricity to Afghanistan. Once this project is completed, Afghanistan not only would turn into a regional energy transit hub but also it would develop economically.

This power grid mostly aims at completing circle of electricity supply to Kabul. Additionally, a part of it would be sent to Logar and Khost provinces and another part also go to Kandahar through Ghazni.

The experts of Fichner Berchna, who are tasked with planning for the project, advise that it would be much better if TUTAP power grid goes to Bamyan and Kabul through Afghanistan�s Sheberghan city and Pol-e-Khomri as they argue Bamyan is a secure route for Afghanistan�s electricity lines and could help avoid Kabul power cuts. On the other side, it is possible to connect many power networks through Bamyan route, resulting in Afghanistan�s great electricity network, and so other Afghan provinces could be supplied with power, as the Afghan capital would enjoy unfailing power supply.

The passage of TUTAP project from Samangan and Bamyan provinces would support another large part of the Afghan economy. The project covers Samangan coal mines as well as Hajigak iron mine in Bamyan, and power supply to these mines could speed up production process there and turn them as big Afghan economic sources- a development that makes majorly Shiite citizens of central Afghanistan hopeful to see economic development and job creation in their region.

However, the Afghan government has come against TUTAP electricity project passing through Bamyan. The protest movement known as Light Movement was formed after the government of President Ashraf Ghani decided that TUTTAP power grid should go through Salang rather than Bamyan. This comes while in earlier projects, too, the central Afghan regions, majorly inhabited by the Shiites, have been ignored.

What riles the people of Hazarajat, especially Bamyan, Daykundi and Ghazni, is the discrimination of the Afghan government against the central regions of the country.

Passing three power grids at the same time through Salang not only is risky but also is economically unjustified and runs counter to the national interests, balanced development and social justice and other constitutional values of the country, and so is not approved by Shiite political movements in Afghanistan.

The people from central Afghanistan have expressed opposition in a variety of ways to Kabul government�s decision. They demanded online and through social networks transfer of power from Bamyan route.

First huge rallies, dubbed Light Celebration, were held on Monday May 16 in the Afghan capital. They continued for the next day. A couple of lawmakers and some government officials including Mohammad Sarwar Danesh, the vice president of Afghanistan, the vice Chief Executive Officer of Afghanistan Mohammad Mohaqiq and Mohammad Khalili, the deputy head of Afghanistan High Peace Council in their addresses to the demonstrators asserted that they supported people�s demands for shift of TUTAP project�s route from Salang Pass in Parwan province to Bamyan. They vowed staying beside people until their demands are met. Now that people from other areas like Herat, Paktika, Wardak, Ghazni and Balkh are voicing support for Bamyan�s people, it is better for the Afghan government to listen to the people�s calls.

By Alwaght