Pakistan Reopens Border Crossings to Iran After Security Halt

Pakistan began allowing cargo to move again across its border with Iran on Monday, ending a nine-day suspension that had triggered fuel shortages and price spikes. The partial reopening affects the Gabd-Rimdan and Taftan crossings in Balochistan province, where Islamabad had halted cargo traffic on October 17 due to security concerns.

Mir Naveed Jan Kalmati, president of the Gwadar Chamber of Commerce and Industry, confirmed that trade partially resumed over the weekend. Border officials cleared consignments dated October 16 or earlier, while trucks loaded in Iran before the closure, including those carrying liquefied petroleum gas, began entering Pakistan slowly.

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. Rizwan Ahmed, a customs clearing agent near the Gabd-Rimdan crossing, stated that customs gave agents the go-ahead to bring in as much cargo as possible. Ahmed noted his own consignment of rice, retail goods, potatoes, and bananas had just left.

The halt in trade created severe shortages of Iranian LPG in Pakistan, a country that imports the bulk of its energy from the Middle East. The situation was compounded by shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz linked to the conflict between Iran and the United States and Israel.

Iranian officials argue that administrative changes are stalling the flow of goods. Reza Amiri Moghadam, Iran’s ambassador to Pakistan, stated on X that Pakistan’s new implementation of the E-Form procedure for imports has made it effectively impossible for traders to dispatch cargo from Iran. Moghadam said consultations with Pakistan are underway and that several hundred LPG trucks have crossed into Gabd but remain unloading or in customs clearance.

A memorandum from Pakistan’s Commerce Ministry dated October 16 withdrew a previous waiver on the E-Form, a document required to record imports and bank payments. The change took effect immediately. Shahwani suggested the delay might be related to banking issues in international trade.

The initial suspension occurred against a backdrop of heightened security threats. Gunmen attacked trucks near the Gabd crossing on Thursday, killing one civilian. The Pakistani military reported that 10 attackers were killed in operations around Gabd and Gwadar city. Balochistan accounted for 131 of the 225 armed attacks recorded nationwide in September, the highest monthly total in 12 years.

Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the country adheres to all applicable sanctions regimes. Spokesman Sajjad Haider Khan said he did not have direct knowledge of the ground situation and did not confirm whether the United States pressured Pakistan to close the border. Analysts suggest the closure may be linked to US efforts to apply maximum pressure on Iran's economy, though no concrete statement has linked the two directly.

Bakhtiar Ismail, deputy commissioner of Chagai in Balochistan, described the closure as a temporary measure to improve border management and support counterterrorism efforts. The Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs attributed the issues to technical problems.

Pakistan has mediated between Washington and Tehran since the war began on February 28. The US has imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports and wide-ranging economic sanctions. Imtiaz Baloch, a security analyst, assessed that security, technical glitches, and banking systems all play a role in the current border dynamics.