Gwadar Chamber: Pakistan-Iran Trade Resumes After Security Halt

Freight trucks began moving again through the Gabd-Rimdan and Taftan crossings in Balochistan province on Monday. The flow of goods had stopped on October 17 when Islamabad suspended cargo traffic due to security risks. For local merchants, the movement signals a partial return to normalcy after a nine-day pause that left many consignments stuck at the border.

Mir Naveed Jan Kalmati, president of the Gwadar Chamber of Commerce and Industry, stated that trade partially resumed over the weekend. Officials at the border cleared shipments that had been dated on or before October 16. Haji Noor Muhammad Shahwani, central president of the Balochistan Goods Truck Owners Association, confirmed that Pakistani exports like rice and bananas are now crossing into Iran. He also noted that Iranian trucks loaded with liquefied petroleum gas before the closure are entering Pakistan, though they are moving slowly.

The interruption in LPG shipments caused shortages and higher prices for consumers in Pakistan, a country that imports much of its energy from the Middle East. The regional economy is already strained by shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz linked to the conflict between Iran and the United States and Israel. Customs agent Rizwan Ahmed, who operates near the Gabd-Rimdan crossing, said officials told agents to file declarations for the stranded trucks to release them. Ahmed described the directive as a command to bring in as much cargo as possible, though he did not clarify if this applied to goods loaded after the initial cutoff date.

Iran has blamed new paperwork rules for delays on its side of the border. Reza Amiri Moghadam, the Iranian ambassador to Pakistan, posted on X on Sunday that changes to the implementation of Pakistan’s E-Form procedure have made it impossible for traders to dispatch cargo. The E-Form is used to record imports and track payments through banks. A memorandum from the Pakistani Commerce Ministry dated October 16 withdrew a previous waiver that had extended the use of this form, a move that took effect immediately.

Security remains the primary justification for the initial halt. Gunmen attacked trucks waiting near the Gabd crossing on Thursday, killing one civilian. The military reported killing 10 attackers in operations around Gabd and Gwadar city. Balochistan recorded 131 armed attacks in September, the highest monthly total in 12 years. Deputy Commissioner Bakhtiar Ismail described the closure as a temporary measure to improve border management and support counterterrorism efforts.

The Pakistani Foreign Ministry stated that it adheres to all applicable sanctions regimes but did not specify if the United States pressured Islamabad to close the border. The Ministry of Commerce did not respond to requests for comment. Analysts suggest that US maximum pressure tactics on Iran may indirectly influence the situation through banking channels, even if no official statement links the two.

Iranian officials cite technical issues in the new system. The Iranian envoy said consultations with Pakistan are ongoing. Several hundred LPG trucks have crossed into Gabd but remain unloading and unclear, according to the ambassador. Shahwani believes the bottleneck involves banking and international trade procedures rather than just the physical movement of trucks.