A border crisis hampers the $10 billion trade between Iran and Pakistan

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Iranian media reported, on Sunday, that about 3,000 Iranian trucks piled up at the Remdan border crossing with Pakistan, at a time when Tehran and Islamabad are seeking to raise the volume of annual trade between them to $10 billion, amid logistical and procedural obstacles that hinder the movement of goods between the two countries.

According to the Iranian "Saham News" channel on Telegram, operational restrictions at the Remdan crossing, in addition to the difficulties associated with using Pakistani ports to transport goods to Iran, continue to impede the flow of trade.

Truck congestion also leads to higher transportation costs and longer delivery times, putting pressure on transport and trade companies and their ability to meet market needs.

This came after the Iranian Tasnim Agency, on October 6, quoted Peyman Sanandji, Chairman of the Transport Committee of the Tehran Chamber of Commerce, as saying that about 3,000 trucks were parked at the Remdan crossing on the border with Pakistan, in addition to between 4 and 5 thousand trucks at the Bazargan crossing on the border with Turkey.

Sanandji said that the continued overcrowding highlights the need to establish logistical facilities and waiting areas before the crossings, instead of turning the border crossings themselves into parking lots for trucks.

While the pressures on the trade movement increased after the Pakistani newspaper “Dawn” reported on Sunday that Pakistan had suspended trade through the Gabad-Raymdan and Taftan crossings, after the Ministry of Commerce withdrew a previous order allowing the use of these two routes.

The newspaper also quoted Pakistani officials as saying that the move is linked to security concerns, efforts to combat smuggling, and improve border management.

On the other hand, passenger movement continued through the Remdan-Gabad crossing, according to what the newspaper reported from the Iranian “West Asia” agency.

"Dawn" indicated that hundreds of vehicles carrying liquefied petroleum gas, rice, fresh fruits and other basic commodities were stuck on both sides of the border.

Sources in the trade and energy sectors also warned that the continued disruption may affect the supply of liquefied petroleum gas to Karachi and other Pakistani regions, especially since the Gabad-Remdan crossing has become one of the important routes for transporting these supplies.

Difficulties in the movement of goods are not limited to land crossings. Last August, Tasnim Agency reported from Sanandji that about 17,000 containers belonging to Iranian cargo owners were stuck in the port of Karachi, due to restrictions imposed on transporting goods through land crossings, especially the Mirjavah-Taftan route.

This reflects the extension of obstacles, from queues of trucks at the border to clearance operations and transporting goods from Pakistani ports to Iranian territory.

These obstacles come at a time when the two countries are working to expand their economic relations. The Pakistani government announced, in a statement published by the Ministry of Information on August 5, the agreement between Tehran and Islamabad to deepen economic cooperation and work to raise the volume of bilateral trade to $10 billion annually.

The understandings included improving customs procedures, coordinating transportation and logistics services, and developing infrastructure on the border, as well as strengthening ties between the private sector and expanding trade between the two countries.

However, the accumulation of thousands of trucks and containers, in conjunction with the suspension of trade through major crossings, puts this goal in front of practical challenges related to security and procedural restrictions, infrastructure, and the ability of the relevant institutions in the two countries to facilitate the movement of trade.

The importance of these obstacles increases for Iran in light of the disruption of navigation traffic and the American restrictions imposed on Iranian sea ports and air services, which led to Tehran’s increased dependence on land routes to transport goods.

However, these routes in turn face bottlenecks at the border, at a time when Iran seeks to promote alternative supply routes.