Pakistani security personnel check the documents of people who came from Iran at the Pakistan-Iran border in Taftan. AFP
Pakistan issued an official permit allowing transit goods to pass through its territory to Iran under a bilateral agreement signed more than a decade ago. The directive, issued by Pakistan’s Ministry of Commerce as the Transit of Goods through Territory of Pakistan Order 2026, implements an agreement ratified on 29 June, 2008.
The order authorizes the transit of third-country goods through Pakistani territory to Iran, designating road routes from the seaports of Gwadar, Karachi, and Port Qasim to the Gabd and Taftan border crossings, marking a shift away from traditional UAE-based trade routes.
Before the US-Israel war erupted on 28 February, Iran relied on UAE ports like Jebel Ali for a significant portion of its imports and transit. This vital economic link has since been severed by a US naval blockade, effectively isolating Iranian commerce from its primary regional trade hub.
President Donald Trump announced the maritime blockade on 13 April, authorizing US naval forces to intercept vessels near Iranian waters in response to Iran’s restrictions on traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. By Saturday, US Central Command (CENTCOM) reported it had already blocked 45 vessels attempting to breach the perimeter.
“As of now, 45 commercial vessels have been directed to turn around or return to port to ensure compliance,” CENTCOM said in a post on X.
Iran has warned that the blockade could undermine negotiations to end the war and further escalate regional tensions, particularly amid already heightened friction with Gulf states following Iranian missile and drone strikes on US military bases across the region.
Tehran accuses the UAE and other Gulf states of hosting US forces involved in attacks on Iranian territory and insists its own strikes are acts of self-defence.
The Fars report said the new Pakistani routes could diversify Iran’s supply channels and strengthen supply chain security.
“Gwadar, due to its geographic proximity to Iran’s eastern borders and direct connection to the Gabd route, could provide a shorter and lower-cost pathway for time-sensitive and cost-sensitive goods.”
“Karachi and Qasim, with their extensive port infrastructure, long maritime trading history, and connectivity to global shipping networks, have the capacity to become complementary routes.”
The 2008 Iran-Pakistan transit agreement had not been previously activated.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei on Saturday condemned remarks by Trump describing US seizures of Iranian vessels as “piracy.”
“The president of the United States has openly described the unlawful seizure of Iranian vessels as ‘piracy,’ brazenly boasting that ‘we act like pirates,’” Baghaei said in an X post.
“This was no verbal slip. It was a direct and damning admission of the criminal nature of their actions against international maritime navigation,” he added.
Trump on Friday said the US Navy acted “like pirates” in enforcing the blockade. “We took over the ship, we took over the cargo, we took over the oil. It’s a very profitable business,” he said at an event in Florida.
A high-ranking security source told Press TV on Wednesday that “continued American maritime piracy and banditry in the form of a so-called naval blockade will soon be met with practical and unprecedented action.”
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