GWADAR/QUETTA: Pakistan has suspended trade with Iran through the official Gabd-Rimdan (250) and Taftan border crossings with immediate effect, it emerged on Saturday.
The Ministry of Commerce issued a memorandum on Friday, seen by Dawn, withdrawing its earlier order (No. 9(3)2017-Iran) dated Oct 3 with immediate effect. The directive did not specify a reason for the closure.
Separately, the Quetta Chamber of Commerce and Industry (QCCI) has also advised its members and businesses involved in trade with Iran to stop placing new import and export orders until further notice. Sources said Pakistani and Iranian authorities had made initial contact following the closure.
Hundreds of freight vehicles carrying liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), rice, fresh fruit and other essential commodities have reportedly been stranded on both sides of the border.
According to Iran-based Wana news agency, passenger traffic through the crossing remains operational. It quoted Syed Hossein Hosseini, director general of the Iranian Transit Office, as saying that commercial operations at the border crossing had been halted.
The Gabd-Rimdan crossing had become a major route for meeting Pakistan’s energy needs, with over 4,000 tonnes of LPG reportedly imported daily through it. Exports of Pakistani products, particularly rice, had also surged in recent months, generating millions of dollars in foreign exchange.
Sources in the trade and energy sector warned that the closure could aggravate LPG shortages in Karachi and other parts of the country.
The Taftan route was already facing disruptions amid unrest in Balochistan. The suspension of supplies through Gabd-Rimdan could push up LPG prices in the open market.
Local traders and the chamber have warned that the disruption could cause not only substantial losses to the national exchequer and jeopardise the livelihoods of many but also an energy crisis.
Since March this year, Islamabad and Tehran have rolled out a series of measures to facilitate border trade, including easing customs procedures, formalising Taftan as a customs station, and notifying new transit routes, against the backdrop of the ongoing US-Iran war that has strained economies in the region and beyond.
In early August, an Iranian delegation led by Trade and Industry Minister Mohammad Atabak visited Islamabad for the 10th session of the Pak–Iran Joint Trade Committee (JTC).
The delegation also met with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, with both sides agreeing to further expand trade ties by keeping border crossings open round the clock, improving logistics and harmonising customs procedures.
The visit came a couple of months after it was reported that trade between Pakistan and Iran through the Gabd-Rimdan border crossing had come to a complete halt.
According to Gwadar Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Jiand Hoot, trade through the Panjgur and Mand-Radig border crossings was virtually non-existent because of poor road infrastructure and recurring incidents of arson and vehicle burnings.