Pakistan resumes partial trade with Iran after nine-day border halt

Freight trucks began moving again through Pakistan and Iran border crossings on Monday, ending a nine-day halt that disrupted the flow of essential goods. The suspension, which started on October 17, had blocked cargo at the Gabd-Rimdan and Taftan checkpoints in Balochistan province. Mir Naveed Jan Kalmati, president of the Gwadar Chamber of Commerce and Industry, confirmed that trade partially resumed over the weekend.

Pakistan initially closed the crossings citing security risks. On Thursday, gunmen attacked trucks waiting near the Gabd crossing on the Pakistani side. The military reported killing 10 attackers in operations around Gabd and Gwadar city, with one civilian also dying. Balochistan accounted for 131 of the 225 armed attacks recorded nationwide in September, the highest monthly total in 12 years according to the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies.

Before the closure, hundreds of trucks passed through the borders daily. The halt caused severe shortages of liquefied petroleum gas in Pakistan, leading to price spikes. Pakistan imports most of its energy from the Middle East, and its economy has already faced pressure from shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz linked to the US-Israel war on Iran, which began on February 28.

Officials say customs has instructed agents to file declarations for stranded trucks to release them. Rizwan Ahmed, a customs clearing agent near Gabd-Rimdan, stated that customs gave agents the green light to bring in cargo. He noted that his own exports of rice, retail goods, potatoes, and bananas had just crossed the border. Trucks loaded in Iran before the closure, including those carrying LPG, are also entering Pakistan, though slowly.

Iran has disputed the reopening, blaming bureaucratic delays. Reza Amiri Moghadam, Iran’s ambassador to Pakistan, wrote on X that changes to Pakistan’s E-Form procedure for imports have left traders unable to dispatch cargo. He stated that Iran placed no restrictions on exports and its borders remained open. The E-Form is used to record imports and their payment through banks.

A memorandum from Pakistan’s Commerce Ministry dated October 16 withdrew a previous waiver on the E-Form for Iranian imports, effective immediately. This move coincided with the start of the border suspension. Bakhtiar Ismail, deputy commissioner of Chagai, described the closure on October 18 as a temporary measure to improve border management and support counterterrorism efforts.

Speculation persists that the United States pressured Pakistan to close the border as part of its economic strategy against Iran. Washington has imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports and wide-ranging sanctions. Imtiaz Baloch, a security analyst, assessed that security, procedures, and banking systems all play a role, though no official statement has directly linked the closure to US policy. The Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it adheres to all applicable sanctions regimes but did not specify if the border is fully open.