10 killed in Balochistan attack as Pakistan-Iran border trade restarts

Cargo trucks began crossing the Pakistan-Iran border again on Monday, ending a nine-day halt that had stranded goods and spiked energy prices in Pakistan. The partial resumption follows a violent weekend in which gunmen attacked vehicles near the Gabd-Rimdan crossing in Balochistan province.

Pakistan suspended cargo traffic on October 17, citing security risks in the border region. Mir Naveed Jan Kalmati, president of the Gwadar Chamber of Commerce and Industry, confirmed that trade partially resumed over the weekend. Haji Noor Muhammad Shahwani, central president of the Balochistan Goods Truck Owners Association, said Pakistani exports like rice and bananas are moving. He also noted that Iranian trucks loaded with liquefied petroleum gas before the closure are now entering Pakistan, though he described the flow as slow.

The delay in Iranian LPG has caused severe shortages and price hikes in Pakistan, a country that imports most of its energy from the Middle East. The economic strain is compounded by shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz linked to the ongoing conflict between Iran and the United States-Israel coalition. Rizwan Ahmed, a customs clearing agent near Gabd-Rimdan, said officials told him to file declarations for stranded trucks to release them. He stated that his own shipment of rice, potatoes, and bananas had just departed.

Despite the movement of goods, a dispute over paperwork persists. Iran’s ambassador to Pakistan, Reza Amiri Moghadam, wrote on X on Sunday that changes to Pakistan’s E-Form procedure for imports are preventing traders from dispatching cargo. He claimed Iran has placed no restrictions on its own exports. A Commerce Ministry memorandum dated October 16 withdrew a previous waiver on the E-Form, which is used to record imports and bank payments. This change took effect immediately.

The security halt was triggered by an attack on Thursday where gunmen targeted trucks near the Gabd crossing. The military reported that 10 attackers were killed in operations around Gabd and Gwadar, with one civilian also killed. Balochistan recorded 131 armed attacks in September, the highest monthly national total in 12 years. Sajjad Haider Khan, a foreign ministry spokesman, said Pakistan adheres to all sanctions regimes but did not clarify if the United States pressured the closure. Imtiaz Baloch, a security analyst, suggested that US maximum pressure tactics influence the border situation, whether directly or through banking channels.

The Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs cited technical issues as the cause for the delays. Bakhtiar Ismail, deputy commissioner of Chagai, had previously described the closure as a temporary measure to improve border management. As of Monday, several hundred LPG trucks were still waiting to be unloaded at Gabd. Shahwani indicated that the unloading problem remained unresolved, likely due to banking issues related to international trade.