Pakistan-Iran border trade partially resumes after weeklong suspension

Trade has partially resumed at the Pakistan-Iran border after Islamabad suspended cargo traffic through the Gabd-Rimdan and Taftan crossings on 17 October, traders and border officials said. The reopening is limited, with some older consignments now being cleared and freight moving again in both directions. However, Iranian officials say their cargo is still not getting through normally, leaving the situation unresolved.

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Mir Naveed Jan Kalmati, president of the Gwadar Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said trade had "partially resumed this weekend". Border officials and truck association representatives said consignments dated 16 October or earlier were being cleared first. Haji Noor Muhammad Shahwani, central president of the Balochistan Goods Truck Owners Association, said Pakistani exports such as rice and bananas were crossing the border, while trucks loaded in Iran before the closure, including some carrying liquefied petroleum gas, were also entering Pakistan slowly.

The suspension had immediate commercial consequences. Traders said the halt in Iranian LPG deliveries caused shortages and price spikes in Pakistan, which imports much of its energy from the Middle East. Rizwan Ahmed, a customs clearing agent near the Gabd-Rimdan crossing, said customs had instructed agents to file declarations for stranded trucks so they could be released.

He said his own export consignment had just left, and listed rice, retail goods, potatoes and bananas among the cargo moving again. The partial reopening matters because the Pakistan-Iran border is a key route for regional trade and for supplies that feed local markets in Balochistan and beyond. Any disruption can quickly affect fuel availability, food prices and the movement of perishable goods.

The latest development also comes against a wider backdrop of shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, which Pakistan's economy has already felt through broader energy and transport pressures. The border closure began after Pakistan cited security risks, but the two sides appear to disagree over how far trade should now be restored. Iran's ambassador to Pakistan, Reza Amiri Moghadam, said on Sunday that Iran had placed no restrictions on exports to Pakistan, including LPG, and that its borders remained open.

He also said changes in Pakistan's E-Form import procedure had created a situation in which traders were effectively unable to move goods, indicating a paperwork dispute as well as a logistical one. What remains unclear is whether the current movement applies only to older cargo or whether newer consignments will also be allowed through. It is also not clear how quickly normal traffic will resume at Gabd-Rimdan and Taftan, or whether the paperwork issue raised by Tehran will be resolved.

For now, traders say some goods are moving again, but the reopening remains partial and fragile.

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