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Look at this map of Afghanistan. There's this weird little strip of land that still technically belongs to the country.
A deep investigation into the Taliban's secret highway project in Afghanistan's remote Wakan Corridor and its geopolitical implications.
Key Takeaways
- The new highway could transform Afghanistan's economy and create a new trade route linking China to the West.
- The Wakan Corridor holds immense geopolitical significance due to its location and history.
- Reporting from Afghanistan involves serious risks and requires extensive preparation and local cooperation.
- The Taliban's control deeply affects the social and political landscape, influencing infrastructure projects.
- Afghanistan remains a complex mosaic of cultures and histories, impacting modern development efforts.
Summary
- The Wakan Corridor is a remote 350 km long strip in Afghanistan bordering China, Tajikistan, and Pakistan.
- The Taliban are constructing a 120 km highway connecting Afghanistan to China, aiming to boost the economy and global trade.
- The highway could become a key part of China's new Silk Road infrastructure project.
- The region is historically significant, shaped by many empires and known as the 'graveyard of empires'.
- Traveling and filming in Afghanistan is highly challenging due to political instability, Taliban control, and logistical difficulties.
- The reporter Vali undertakes a dangerous journey with a team to investigate the highway's progress and impact.
- Afghanistan's ethnic diversity, geography, and history are explored to provide context for the project.
- The Taliban's rise to power in 2021 has worsened human rights, especially for women and dissenters.
- The video highlights the strategic importance of the Wakan Corridor as a buffer zone from the Great Game era.
- The investigation includes securing filming permits, navigating difficult terrain, and understanding local cultures.
Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown
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That's the Vakhan Corridor. It's 350 km long and 16 to 64 km wide. The corridor separates Tajikistan and Pakistan and ends at a short border with China. It's one of the most remote regions on Earth.
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Huge mountains, barely inhabited valleys, and places so difficult to reach. They seem almost untouched by time. It's home to nomadic life, to striking natural beauty. But the Wakan Corridor is about to change forever.
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Because right here, the Taliban are building a 120 km highway, which will connect Afghanistan to China. A project they say will transform the country's economy.
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But its significance reaches far beyond the country's borders. It could change global trade, offering an alternative route for Chinese goods flowing west.
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For China, the Wakan Corridor could become an important link in the new Silk Road. A massive global infrastructure project to expand China's economic influence.
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The highway will run through the very core of Afghanistan's history, shaped by the many empires that have come and gone. And at the same time, it opens a path toward Afghanistan's uncertain future economically, politically, and culturally.
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Yet online, we only found rough plans of the highway's construction. No footage, no details, no progress updates.
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So, we sent our reporter Vali to investigate. He knew it would be a long and dangerous adventure, but he wasn't ready for what came next.
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Important disclaimer. The political views expressed in this film represent the perspective of Fern. The people appearing on screen or assisting in production in Afghanistan are not connected to nor responsible for these interpretations.
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I feel like these Afar people really embrace the spirit of this place. Regular Fern viewers are already familiar with Vali. Last year he flew to Ethiopia for us and explored an active volcano zone accompanied by kids carrying Kalashnikovs. A few months ago,
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he flew to Fiji to investigate a doomsday cult taking over the paradise. But this story is a whole different beast.
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Traveling to Afghanistan is neither easy nor particularly safe. You can't just book a flight to the Vakan Corridor.
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You have to fly to the capital Kabul and then continue by car for multiple days.
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And trying to get permission to film, do journalism, or any sort of media in Afghanistan is hard. The Taliban are a predominantly Pashtun and hardline Islamist group. They regained power in the country and retook control in August 2021 when the US and other Western
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countries withdrew their armies. Since then, the human rights situation has gotten worse and worse. The rights of women and girls are severely restricted and critical voices are being silenced.
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The Taliban police public spaces, operate checkpoints across the country, and even search people's phones. Sending Vali there takes a huge amount of time and preparation. We've got a whole team working behind the scenes to make sure he can actually get there. From applying
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for visas, booking flights to securing the journalist permit. On top of that, we bring in outside experts who know the ins and outs of traveling in Afghanistan. We run multiple security and risk calls and try to plan for every
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scenario. And there's so much to consider. Parts of the journey go up several thousand meters in altitude, which means altitude sickness is a real risk. There's also the reality of Afghanistan itself. The country is politically unstable and in the Vakhan
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Corridor, you're basically on your own. Almost no cell signal. The terrain is tough. Clean drinking water is hard to come by. And if something goes wrong, proper medical care could be days away.
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That's why Vali doesn't travel alone. He's accompanied by a field producer and medic. And with them come 50 kilos of luggage full of medical and emergency equipment.
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There's no help there. We're helping ourselves. Then finally on the 19th of August 2025, Vali and Rob fly to Kabul. It's going to be a long trip. They're going to drive from Kabul to Faizabad and then to Ishkashim, which is the gateway to the
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Wakan Corridor. According to the Taliban, the newly built 120 km highway project runs from here to Baza Gonbut to the southeast all the way to the border with China. But before they hit the road, let's take a closer look at
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Afghanistan. The country covers about 650,000 km² in South Central Asia and has a population of roughly 43 million people. Most Afghans live in rural areas, though there are major urban centers such as Kabul. When we speak of the Afghan
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people, it's important to understand that Afghanistan is far from homogeneous. It's home to plenty of ethnic groups and cultures. Dari and Pashto are the two official languages, but many others are spoken across its many regions. Afghanistan is also home
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to nomadic communities. Groups such as the Waki and the Kyrgyz have lived in the remote high valleys of the Wakhan Corridor for generations.
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Geographically, Afghanistan is landlocked, sharing borders with Pakistan, Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and China. Because of its location, the land we now call Afghanistan has long been of interest to the world's superpowers.
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Afghanistan has been conquered again and again throughout history by Alexander the Great and Genghis Khan, the Turk conqueror Tamerlane, the Mughal Emperor Babur, as well as the Turks, Huns, Persians, Arabs, and countless others.
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Empires came and went, some staying for decades, others for centuries. Yet, no superpower managed to hold on to Afghanistan permanently. Because of that, it's often called the graveyard of empires. In the 19th century, the British arrived and Afghanistan became
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the stage of a rivalry between Great Britain and Russia known as the Great Game. The contest redrew the map of the region. The Wakan Corridor emerged as a narrow buffer zone separating the British and Russian empires. In 1919,
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after three British-Afghan wars, Afghanistan gained its independence. So much has changed since the Great Game. For example, how we do business.
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description to get started. Before leaving Kabul, Vali still has to visit ministry after ministry to make sure we can film the highway. First stop is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Here, things go smoothly. We got the permits.
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We can go to Pakshan and we can film there. The permit is handed over with a simple warning. Just stay exactly with your agenda and you will be fine. By 1:00 p.m., the trip begins.
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Hello. Leaving the crowded streets of the capital behind, they head toward the Salang Pass. To reach northern Afghanistan, they drive through a 2.6 km long tunnel at an altitude of about 3,400 m.
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Right here, the infamous Salang Tunnel. See you on the other side. This tunnel wasn't built by Afghanistan, but by the Soviets. It's not the only reminder of their invasion. Out in the desert lies a vast graveyard of Soviet
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tanks, relics from a terrible war. In 1979, the Soviet Union sent troops in.
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war lasted nine long years. Afghanistan became one of the major battlefields of the cold war.
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The communist government in Kabul was backed by Moscow. On the other side, the US supplied money and weapons to the mujahedin. The Muslim Geras resisting the Soviets. The Soviet army suffered heavy losses and failed to gain control of the country. By 1988, Moscow began to
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withdraw its troops. But the fighting didn't end. Both the Soviet Union and the US continued to back their allies in the conflict. In 1992, the regime collapsed and Afghanistan fell back into civil war. Four years later, the radical
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Islamic Taliban seized power in Kabul and declared the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. On the long trip to the Wakhan corridor, Valley and the crew run into one car problem after another. Flat tires, breakdowns, wrong fuel. It's windy, it's
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dusty, it's getting colder, and we have a flat tire. Off to a great start.
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Something wrong with the with the gas pump. But slowly they push forward. We're going to drive through the night slowly, carefully to catch up a little bit on the schedule with all the time that we lost. The roads and the driving
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is honestly a little bit stressful, a little bit chaotic here. Little bit being a bit of an understatement, but yeah, we'll get through this.
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And the journey is worth it. We've been on the road now for probably around 20 hours and uh the landscapes are just mindblowing.
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They finally reach Badakshan province, this remote corner of Afghanistan. The Wakan corridor is also in this province. It's still a long drive though. And all along this river here, we could see gold mines. Afghanistan is rich in natural resources. Beneath its
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mountains lie vast deposits of copper, iron, rare earths, and gold. The Taliban sit on minerals worth nearly $1 trillion.
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But in reality, most of it still remains untouched. These kids are building these parts for the gold extraction. And this place is full of gold mines. It's a proper gold rush here. Vali and the crew finally make it to Faizabad, the capital of the
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Barakan province. The plan for the day seems simple. walk into the ministry, pick up another filming permit, and move on. But things don't go as planned.
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Sitting here with this beautiful view over Fazabat, I'll tell you what happened today. Once we came here, things really turned around.
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The local ministry suddenly informs Wali he's not allowed to film anywhere in Badakshan. According to a ministry employee, the order comes straight from the Taliban. And we can actually find a news article about this ban. Under article 17 of the law, the broadcast of
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images of living beings is explicitly prohibited. But that's not the only reason. Another concern that one employee raised was that if this story goes viral, if many people get to know about this road project which has been tried to be kept
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secret as good as possible, all the neighboring countries and general, you know, people will know about this project and try to pressure China, try to somehow make this project not happen, which I found bizarre again because there has been a lot of Afghan news
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coverage on the road. not very exact information on how far it actually is or or photo material. Um, but it seems there is certainly pride in sharing this project. So, it's all super confusing to us. Then, out of nowhere, the director
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of the ministry calls. Seems like we got it. Under strict conditions, permission for filming is granted. Vali and the crew are not allowed to enter the wildlife area in the Wakan corridor. They can't go near Pakistani border regions.
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Understandable and they are forbidden from going to the border with China. The very area where the highway is connecting both countries. One of the essential spots we plan to visit. Vali and the crew are only allowed to drive
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to Bazai Gonbud. Why did they change their mind? We can't know for sure. Vali and the crew have no other option than to adapt.
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We'll still make use of the permissions that we do have and try and see what it is that we can get.
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And he doesn't falter. Camera in hand, he presses forward, capturing sightes of Afghanistan you have likely never seen before.
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Okay, this is it. The last checkpoint. And now we're officially in Wakan. It's so windy out here.
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First 80 km of the Wakan down took us about 5 and a half hours and we reached Kandut which is the administrative village of the Wakan.
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Over the next few days the journey takes him from the bustling streets of Faizabad along roaring rivers. How is this going to go?
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Through secluded valleys. See the little bucket he has in his hands. Whenever a donkey has to poop, he tries to catch it so he doesn't fall down on the food.
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Past breathtaking mountain panoramas deeper into the heart of the Wakan corridor. The Wakan splits into two.
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This side goes to the little Pomeir which is the way we're going and on that side just over here is the pass to Pakistan.
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It's just 78 km that way. All the mountains you can see here are actually on Pakistani side. Vali and the crew arrive in Saral. This is where the 120 km highway to China begins. A project the Taliban see as key to forging new
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alliances after decades out of power. With the new century, the Taliban firmly established control over large parts of Afghanistan.
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They also gave shelter to al-Qaeda, the militant Islamist organization founded by Osama bin Laden in the 1980s. What began as a logistical network to support Muslims fighting against the Soviet Union during the Afghan war evolved over time. By September 2001, it had become a
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terrorist organization known worldwide. The search is underway for those who were behind these evil acts.
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I've directed the full resources of our intelligence and law enforcement communities to find those responsible and to bring them to justice. In response, the US launched a military operation aimed to go after al-Qaeda and overthrow the Taliban government and
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invaded Afghanistan. 26 days after the attacks on New York and Washington, America and Britain have begun the military campaign against Osama bin Laden and the Taliban regime. By the end of 2001, the Taliban had been ousted from Kabul. The United Nations called
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for a new political beginning in Afghanistan and NATO allies joined efforts to stabilize the country. As part of the Resolute Support mission, about 10,000 troops from 36 NATO and partner countries were stationed in Afghanistan. They stayed here, quote, to
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train, advice, and assist the Afghan security forces and institutions so that Afghanistan would never again be a safe haven for terrorism. But alongside the military operations come countless reports of abuses and war crimes committed by soldiers. Killings of
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civilians that were often ignored, covered up, or never properly investigated. And despite 20 years of international presence, the political situation in Afghanistan remained unstable.
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Then came the summer of 2021. The US military along with NATO allies withdrew their troops from the country.
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We did not go to Afghanistan to nation build and it's the right and the responsibility of Afghan people alone to decide their future and how they want to run their country.
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The withdrawal was chaotic. Hundreds of thousands were evacuated. But thousands more who had worked for the US and its allies were left behind in Afghanistan.
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Since the Taliban retook control, they have brought back harsh Sharia based laws, the human rights situation has worsened. Arbitrary arrests, torture, public executions of journalists, human rights activists, and former government employees. In many cases, family members are reportedly forced to pull the
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trigger. The Taliban banned girls and women from secondary and university education. No more school for girls older than 12.
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Most Afghans oppose this ban and to this day a lot of courageous Afghan women fight against it like activist Fatima Amiri.
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I'm someone who has felt every kind of pain that girls in my country experience. I'm the girl whose school was closed. I still remember the day when they closed my school. How painful it was.
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In September, the Taliban banned books written by women from Afghan universities. To keep girls learning, radio stations broadcast daily lessons in subjects like math, chemistry, biology, and literature. The girls sent their homework through a secret network of allies, fathers, brothers, teachers
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who risk their lives to make sure the girls can keep getting an education. Since coming back to power, the Taliban have issued more than 70 decrees that violate women's rights. I have spoken to countless women, people who've been
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deported from Pakistan, from Iran, and they will tell you that they are in despair. Uh that life has never been more challenging for them, that the Taliban's return has squashed their dreams.
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This is Rick Noak, the Afghanistan bureau chief for the Washington Post. He also made the journey to the Wakhan corridor in 2024. Women aren't allowed to raise their voices or even laugh in public. when it comes to places where
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they can meet um there's not much left. The Taliban has closed beauty salons which used to be one of the main meeting points after women were banned from going to school or university of of uh sixth grade.
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No excess that for many Afghan women the internet has been the last place where they could still experience a sense of freedom.
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You know a lot of them are using AI chat bots to talk because they have no one else to talk to. they're trying to still attend some online courses. So, a lot of them have resorted to to that. But what
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we've seen over the last weeks has been mounting signs that the Taliban wants to restrict internet access.
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In September, the Taliban cut off internet access in the country for 48 hours to prevent immorality. For a lot of women who saw this as the last lifeline, this has been particularly devastating.
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In recent years, Afghanistan has become increasingly isolated. Foreign governments, NOS's, and companies pulled out. International investors disappeared. The Taliban says, you know, country is open for business. Please come invest here. They have been trying to sell their country as almost an
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investor's paradise. Uh but the reality is a lot of countries are hesitant to invest. They still see significant risks.
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Afghanistan's economy collapsed and unemployment is high. According to the New York Times, more than half the population now depends on humanitarian aid. On top of that, in 2025 alone, more than 2 million Afghans were forced to return home from Pakistan and Iran. Both
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countries have become stricter with Afghan refugees and migrants. And in this isolation, China is offering a hand.
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It has stepped in as one of the few international partners still engaging with Afghanistan. China has become Afghanistan's biggest investor. By late 2023, it was their third largest supplier of imports. China has even posted an ambassador in Afghanistan. And
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Beijing has reasons to be interested. Afghanistan sits on massive untapped reserves of copper, lithium, and rare earths. These are strategically important for China. The country is thinking about extending the China Pakistan economic corridor or CPAC for short into Afghanistan. CPAC is
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basically a huge trade and infrastructure route through China and Pakistan. The expansion into Afghanistan would link the country to new trade and transit routes all under the belt and road initiative also known as the new silk road. That's China's enormous
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global infrastructure project. With the new silk road, the country wants to expand trade routes and broaden its political and economic influence. The routes run both over land and at sea to connect Asia, Africa, and Europe. And the US isn't happy about that. The
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country is currently in a trade war with China. President Donald Trump is working on expanding his country's maritime influence and trying to weaken China's global network of ports. That's why overland connections like the Wakan corridor could give China another route
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west to expand its reach for the Taliban. It would be a huge win. The Wakan corridor symbolizes really economic hope. The hope that they can turn their country which is currently quite isolated economically and politically into more of a transit
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country. So they decided to build the highway at an altitude of 5,000 m. The project is supposed to have cost $5 million. According to Taliban officials, the road was completed in January 2024.
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Valley and the crew are close to the destination now and soak in life in the premiere, but the high altitude takes its toll. As much as I love this place, the altitude is also really tangible. I mean, at night, I get weird dreams.
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Sometimes wake up in the middle of the night and think it's a morning already.
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breathing shortage. My lips are just opening. And some crew members complain about persistent headaches.
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So yeah, that's the reality of living on more than 4,000 m. Tomorrow morning, they will drive the last kilometers to Basai Gonbad.
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It's about 4:30 in the morning and we're about to leave the Pomeier. This side here is going back to the baka. And then this side is actually strictly forbidden for us to film or to go there after all because
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that is the way to cha the way to the botcher pass. Vali and the crew are not allowed to travel further than here.
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On their way, they get stopped by the Taliban who look through all of their stuff. They were not allowed to go all the way to the border with China, but we got a hold of some firstirhand footage anyway. We cannot disclose how. Here we
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see the view across to the Chinese side of the border. A long green fence cuts through the valley between two mountains lined with little Chinese flags. Behind it lie layer upon layer of barbed wire.
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On the fence, a camera is fixed. And just behind it, there's a tiny guard hut.
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The so-called highway the Taliban built isn't paved. It's a gravel road. This doesn't look like a place where trade is thriving. Valley also mentioned spotting construction machinery on the road, but no sign of the busy crossber highway Afghanistan had hoped for. Is that the
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reason why they didn't want us filming there? Do they want to hide that there's no thriving trade yet? For Valley, the questions are only just beginning.
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Vali wants to learn more about the impact of the highway on the people that live in the corridor.
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Lots of the times the nomads would hang out around here, but now they're on the complete other side of the lake.
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So on his way, he stops at two nomadic villages and he learns life for these Kyus nomads is breathtakingly beautiful, but also brutally unforgiving.
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The Kyrgus are a Turk ethnic group. Most of them live in Kyrgyzstan, Usbekistan, and China, but some settled in the Vakhan corridor for centuries. The Afghan Kiryus moved across central Asia and were known for raiding Silk Road caravans, the ancient trade route
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connecting China with the West that the country is trying to revive. Their settlement in the Wakan corridor started in the 16th century. Throughout the 20th century, Kyrgus migrated to the Afghan premieres fleeing Soviet and Chinese communist threats and expulsions. In
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2021, when the Taliban took over, many Kirus fled across the border to Tajikistan. They sought refuge, but their plea for humanitarian aid went unanswered. So, they returned after just two weeks.
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Today, only about 1 to 2,000 of them remain in the Afghan premiere. Living in these high altitude valleys is tough. We have reached the nomad camp.
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It's uh about eight families there. You can see in the background these tents. They live here for the summer and for winter they're going to move over to the other side of the lake.
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And uh yeah, I can notice right away it's a tough life. Access to healthcare is limited and child and maternal mortality rates are high.
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But the Kirus lifestyle is deeply tied to the land. And despite centuries of political upheaval, they've managed to keep their traditions and language alive.
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They're nomadic herders. They move seasonally with their goats, yaks, and camels, and live in yurts.
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Inside, the space feels cozy. They have colorful rocks on the floor, low bats, and stoves for warmth, making it not just a home, but also a shelter against the brutal weather.
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For this night, and the crew get to sleep in one of these yurts, experiencing firsthand how the Kirus live high up in the mountains.
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So, in this village we are now, the water doesn't seem too clean. There's uh some trash in the river. So, we're just walking upstream few hundred meters, collect some water, and hopefully make it drinkable. Going to have to boil it,
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disinfect it. Oh, perfect. Looks like chai. One morning, Vali meets two teachers from Badakshan. Because of the new road, they can now come here for 5 months every summer to teach the Kirrus children.
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Time for school. Definitely a bit. Inside a small classroom, the kids sit on the floor and are focused on their lesson.
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One girl is here as well, but the strict rules of the Taliban also apply here in the high valleys of the Wakan corridor.
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She may only be allowed to attend school until she's 12 years old. And on his whole trip through Afghanistan, Vali is not allowed to film any women.
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In the background, I can see the women milking the yaks. Sadly, I cannot take any images or videos of the women. It's uh well, strictly prohibited.
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The Kirus village leader gives Vali a clear message. He told me that I could take videos of whatever I want but not of the women which is sad because first of all these women are just beautiful with their dresses, their appearance and
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it also seems that most of the daily work is done with the women. I mean milking, cooking, um collection of fire dung and making the fire happen, making the tea. I think even the yuck hurting is partly done by women.
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For the Kirks living here, the highway is a gamecher. Ajibuto tells Valley that it's opened a connection to the outside world.
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Before they were completely cut off from places like Sahad, Kand or Ishkashim and had to travel by foot and with their animals.
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It was a multiple week endeavor for them to buy flour for bread. Now traders visit regularly with their cars to sell their goods. Shoes, apples, melons pasta more apples, melons, rice. It's a little mobile shop, a little car. came from
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Jurham maybe three days journey to try and sell their stuff here. That's incredible for the Kyrgyzst. The highway has brought real tangible change.
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But when Vali tries to dig deeper talking to workers or Taliban officials about the project, he keeps hitting a wall of silence.
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Vali keeps trying to set up interviews again and again. At one point, he meets the project manager of the construction company responsible for building the highway. Finally, a chance to get some answers. But when they sit down, the man
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immediately backs out. Well, he said he cannot give any interview. He cannot be on video.
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Why don't they want us to talk to him? But it doesn't stop there. Vali manages to meet the district head of Wakan. The atmosphere is tense from the very first minute.
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The first question he asked was like, "So, is your country part of NATO?" Um, and so very soon it was clear that there's not going to be any interview.
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And he also denied us of doing any reporting on the road whatsoever, which is completely different to what we've been told before.
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Things just keep getting weirder. Vali manages to arrange an interview with a local tour guide. But as soon as they return, the situation gets tense.
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A crew member of Vali gets a call. It's from the GDI, the Afghan General Directorate of Intelligence. They tell him very directly that I have to delete all footage of the roads and construction and anything that has machinery on it.
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What is going on? For the Taliban, the idea of opening direct trade with China through the narrow Wakan corridor is a dream. But talk of fully opening the border remains hypothetical. China seems to be cautious. Security is another big
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concern. Fears that this could be used by by militant groups, by terrorists to to enter China.
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In the Badakshan province, militant groups like the East Turkystan Islamic Movement have found shelter. Beijing worries about extremists slipping across the border. It has pushed the Taliban to deal with these threats and protect China's interests.
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The Taliban point to the newly finished gravel road through the Vakan corridor as proof of progress. They presented as a highway to the future, a symbol of sovereignty and a promise of economic revival. But the reality looks different. The road is not practical for
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heavy trade. And right now, most goods between China and Afghanistan still go by sea through Pakistan's ports in Karachi and Dan by land. You have to keep in mind, I mean, the road we traveled on even 200 miles away from
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that was often quite bad. So, it would take trucks quite a significant amount of time to travel on that road. If you wanted to turn this region into a transit hub, you probably would need to invest heavily into improving the road
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that already exists. So it's not just about really extending the road to the border, building out the pass. It is also about the whole infrastructure beyond that.
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At least for now, Afghanistan's dream of transforming global trade through the Wakan corridor remains just that, a dream.
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Vali and the crew have made it back to Kabul. It has been a remarkable journey.
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They drove hundreds of kilome, spoke to countless Afghans. They witness the country's incredible beauty, but also its many problems.
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Soon, Vali will board a plane and leave. That's it. I'm leaving Afghanistan. Most Afghans can't do that. They remain under the strict rule of the Taliban with few signs that life is improving.
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The new highway itself tells us a story of contradiction. It seems like a road towards progress, but it is built in a country where the regime is going back in time.
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And yet there's still hope for the people of the Wakan corridor. This road has already made life a little easier.
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And beyond that, many Afghans continue to hope for economic opportunity, for open borders, and a future in which women regain their freedom.
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Wow, there's so many things here. This is Kabul. This is overwhelming. So much to see, so much going on.
Topics:AfghanistanWakan CorridorTalibanChinaSilk RoadHighway projectGeopoliticsTrade routeRemote regionsInvestigation
