Balochistan Security: Ten killed as border trade restarts

Ten gunmen were killed by Pakistani military forces in operations around the Gabd and Gwadar areas this week. The attacks targeted trucks waiting near the Gabd-Rimdan crossing on the Pakistani side of the border. The violence occurred in Balochistan province, which recorded 131 armed attacks in September. That figure represented 131 of the 225 total incidents nationwide, marking the highest monthly count in 12 years according to the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies.

The security situation prompted Islamabad to suspend cargo traffic through the Gabd-Rimdan and Taftan crossings on October 17. Officials cited deteriorating security risks as the primary reason for the halt. On Monday, the flow of goods began to resume. Mir Naveed Jan Kalmati, president of the Gwadar Chamber of Commerce and Industry, stated that trade partially resumed over the weekend.

Border officials 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 and bananas were crossing into Iran. He confirmed that Iranian trucks loaded with liquefied petroleum gas before the closure were entering Pakistan. Shahwani noted that these vehicles were moving slowly.

The temporary suspension of Iranian LPG imports caused shortages and price spikes in Pakistan. The country relies heavily on Middle Eastern energy imports. The economy also faced pressure from shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz linked to the conflict between Iran and the United States and Israel.

Rizwan Ahmed, a customs clearing agent near the Gabd-Rimdan crossing, said officials instructed agents to file declarations for stranded trucks. Ahmed reported that customs gave the go-ahead to bring in as much cargo as possible. His own consignment of rice, retail goods, potatoes, and bananas had just departed. He did not clarify if this directive applied to goods loaded after October 16.

Iranian authorities reported that changes to import paperwork were holding up their cargo. Reza Amiri Moghadam, Iran’s ambassador to Pakistan, posted on X on Sunday that Iran placed no restrictions on exports. He argued that changes in the implementation of Pakistan’s E-Form procedure made it impossible for traders to dispatch cargo from Iran to Pakistan.

A memorandum from Pakistan’s Commerce Ministry dated October 16 withdrew a previous waiver for the E-Form. The E-Form records imports and payments through banks. The withdrawal took effect immediately. Moghadam said consultations were under way and cited reports that several hundred LPG trucks had crossed into Gabd but remained unloaded.

Shahwani stated that the unloading problem had not been resolved. He suggested the issue might involve banking or international trade procedures. Bakhtiar Ismail, deputy commissioner of Chagai, wrote on X on October 18 that the closure was a temporary measure to support counterterrorism efforts. Esmaeil Baghaei, spokesman for Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, cited technical issues.

Pakistan’s foreign ministry spokesman Sajjad Haider Khan addressed the situation on Friday. He said Pakistan adheres to all applicable sanctions regimes. He stated he did not have direct knowledge of ground conditions and did not confirm US pressure on the closure. Imtiaz Baloch, a security analyst, assessed that security, technical glitches, and banking systems were all factors in the disruption. The Ministry of Commerce did not respond to requests for comment.

The next scheduled step involves ongoing consultations between the two nations to resolve the E-Form discrepancies. Customs officials continue to process the backlog of vehicles at the crossings. The military maintains its presence around Gabd and Gwadar following the engagement with the gunmen.