LPG Trucks Crawl Back Into Pakistan After Balochistan Border Halt

Freight trucks that had been stalled for nine days at the Pakistan-Iran border began moving again on Monday, marking a partial restart of trade after Islamabad suspended cargo traffic on October 17. The resumption follows a security crackdown in Balochistan province, though Iranian officials argue that new paperwork requirements are still hindering the flow of goods.

Mir Naveed Jan Kalmati, president of the Gwadar Chamber of Commerce and Industry, stated that trade partially resumed over the weekend. Border officials confirmed they cleared consignments dated October 16 or earlier. Haji Noor Muhammad Shahwani, central president of the Balochistan Goods Truck Owners Association, reported from Quetta that Pakistani exports, including rice, potatoes, and bananas, were crossing the border. He also noted that trucks loaded with liquefied petroleum gas, or LPG, in Iran before the closure were entering Pakistan slowly.

The halt in LPG imports caused severe shortages and price spikes in Pakistan, a country that imports most of its energy from the Middle East. The economic strain coincides with shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz resulting from the conflict between Iran and the United States and Israel. Rizwan Ahmed, a customs clearing agent near the Gabd-Rimdan crossing, said customs instructed agents to file declarations for stranded trucks. "Customs has given us the go-ahead, saying, 'Bring in as much cargo as you can,'" Ahmed said. He did not clarify if this applied to goods loaded after October 16.

Iran contends that changes to Pakistan’s electronic import forms, known as E-Forms, are preventing traders from dispatching cargo. Reza Amiri Moghadam, the Iranian ambassador to Pakistan, wrote on X on Sunday that Iran placed no restrictions on exports. He argued that the implementation of the E-Form procedure made it literally impossible for traders to send cargo to Pakistan. A memorandum from Pakistan’s Ministry of Commerce dated October 16 withdrew a previous waiver on these forms, effective immediately. The forms are used to record imports and bank payments.

The security context for the closure remains tense. Gunmen attacked trucks near the Gabd crossing on Thursday, and the military said it killed 10 attackers in operations around Gabd and Gwadar. One civilian died in the incident. Balochistan recorded 131 of the 225 armed attacks nationwide in September, the highest monthly total in 12 years, according to the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies. Bakhtiar Ismail, deputy commissioner of Chagai, described the closure on October 18 as a temporary measure for border management and counterterrorism.

Speculation persists that the United States pressured Pakistan to close the border as part of a strategy to suffocate Iran’s economy. Pakistan’s foreign ministry spokesman, Sajjad Haider Khan, said on Friday that Pakistan adheres to all applicable sanctions regimes. He stated he did not have direct knowledge of the situation on the ground and did not confirm US pressure. The Ministry of Commerce did not respond to requests for comment.

Shahwani said the unloading problem for the hundreds of LPG trucks at Gabd remains unresolved, citing potential issues with international banking. Imtiaz Baloch, a security analyst, noted that US maximum pressure policies likely influenced the decision directly or indirectly. He assessed that security concerns, procedural glitches, and banking systems all play a role in the current trade halt.