WorldSouth Asia
Pakistan halts trade with Iran at Taftan and Gabd crossings, stranding hundreds of lorries
Balochistan's government said the suspension was needed to tackle smuggling and security problems, while Tehran called it temporary. Traders warn it could deepen LPG shortages in Karachi, as Pakistan's other western border flares again.
Key points
- Commercial traffic is halted at the Gabd-Rimdan and Taftan crossings; passengers can still cross.
- More than 4,000 tonnes of LPG a day come into Pakistan through Gabd-Rimdan.
- Pakistani and Afghan Taliban forces exchanged fire again in Upper Kurram on Saturday.
Pakistan has suspended trade with Iran through its two main border crossings in Balochistan, leaving hundreds of lorries loaded with cooking gas, rice and fresh fruit stuck on both sides of the frontier.
Commercial traffic at Gabd-Rimdan, near Gwadar, and at Taftan has been halted under a memorandum issued by the Ministry of Commerce on Friday. Shahid Rind, adviser on media affairs to the Balochistan chief minister, said the step was meant to “address security concerns, prevent smuggling” and improve the way the border is run. He called it “necessary to improve the security situation and administrative affairs on both sides of the border.”
Rind said the crossings were “likely to reopen soon” and that a coordinated system to curb smuggling was being set up. In Tehran, foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei described the closure as temporary and blamed “technical issues”, saying the two governments were consulting to restore normal operations.
Passengers are still being allowed through at Rimdan-Gabd, but cargo has stopped. The 909-km border between Balochistan and Iran’s Sistan and Baluchestan province has four official crossings: Taftan-Mirjaveh, Gabd-Rimdan, Mand and Chadgi.
Cooking gas and rice
The impact was felt quickly. The Quetta Chamber of Commerce and Industry told its members that trade had been suspended at all Pakistan-Iran crossings and advised them to stop placing new import and export orders until further notice.
More than 4,000 tonnes of liquefied petroleum gas are reported to enter Pakistan every day through Gabd-Rimdan, and traders warned that the halt could worsen LPG shortages in Karachi and push up open-market prices. Rice exports to Iran have surged in recent months. Jiand Hoot, president of the Gwadar Chamber of Commerce, said trade through the smaller Panjgur and Mand-Radig routes was virtually non-existent because of poor roads and repeated arson attacks on vehicles.
The move reverses months of easing. Since March, with the US-Iran war raging next door, the two countries have relaxed border trade rules, made Taftan a formal customs station and notified new transit routes. In August, Iran’s Trade and Industry Minister Mohammad Atabak led a delegation to Islamabad, where both sides agreed to keep the crossings open round the clock. The Taftan route had already been disrupted by unrest in Balochistan.
Fire on the Afghan front
Pakistan’s western frontier with Afghanistan is also tense. Pakistani state media, citing security sources, said troops answered “unprovoked” fire from Afghan Taliban forces in the Taidah and Ghuzgarhi areas of Upper Kurram on Saturday, destroying Taliban posts at Topsar and Shipola. Several Taliban fighters were reported killed. Pakistan says the Taliban fired to help militants slip across the border.
On the Afghan side, local residents in Paktia province’s Dand Patan district said rockets fired from Pakistan hit homes. The Taliban administration issued no statement. Foreign Office spokesperson Sajjad Haider Khan said Pakistan was not avoiding dialogue with Afghan representatives, but has said talks cannot be unconditional.