Pakistan’s Iran land routes announcement comes amid Strait of Hormuz blockade, enabling cargo transit as thousands of containers remain stuck at key ports.
With the critical maritime trade routes shut in the Persian Gulf and the chokehold still continuing in Strait of Hormuz, Pakistan has operationalised six designated land routes for goods destined for Iran.
The emergency measure was notified by Pakistan’s Commerce Ministry which issued a statutory regulatory order, through “Transit of Goods through Territory of Pakistan Order 2026” which formalised a road corridor through its territory for the passage of cargo backlogs.
Meanwhile, CNN reported that more than 3,000 containers, which left for Iran, have been stuck at Karachi and Gwadar port since the conflict between US-Israel and Iran started in West Asia.
This comes as blockade of Strait of Hormuz, which is responsible for the passage of 20 percent of global crude oil, and that of Iranian ports continue which has soared the crude oil prices to $125 per barrel as per Brent Crude on Thursday.
According to the order, the six routes that have been designated for Iran are:
- Gwadar-Gabd
- Karachi/ Port Qasim-Lyari-Ormara-Pasni-Gabd
- Karachi/ Port Qasim- Khuzdar-Dalbandin-Taftan
- Gawadar-Turbat-Hoshab-Panjgur-Nagg-Besima-Khuzdar-Quetta/ Lakpass-Dalbandin-Nokundi-Taftan
- Gwadar-Liari-Khuzdar-Quetta/ Lakpass-Dalbandin-Nokundi-Taftan
- Karachi/ Port Qasim -Gwadar- Gabd
According to Pakistan’s Commerce Ministry order, under the notification, the transportation of cargo will be regulated under the provisions of the Customs Act, 1969.
The order “shall apply to the transportation of transit goods in transport units, consigned from the territory of a third country and destined to a place in the territory of Iran through the territory of Pakistan,” Dawn reported.
Notably, Pakistan’s notification was based on an agreement between Islamabad and Tehran signed in 2008 which allowed the transport of passengers and goods by road. However, Iran was not using the trade channel until now as it relied on its ports for trade.
Meanwhile, Iran’s recent proposal to end the conflict in West Asia focused on pushing the talks on the country’s nuclear programme to a later date. However, the Trump said one of the major reasons US went to war with Iran was to deny the Islamic nation the ability to develop nuclear weapons.
