Pakistan has reopened a key border crossing with Iran to resume bilateral trade and cross-border movement after a week-long suspension.
ISLAMABAD — Pakistan has reopened a key border crossing with Iran to resume bilateral trade and cross-border movement after a week-long suspension that stranded freight vehicles, disrupted supplies and aggravated concerns over LPG shortages ahead of winter.
Trade operations resumed on Saturday at the Gabd-Rimdan crossing in Balochistan's Gwadar district, with border officials allowing commercial consignments accompanied by consignment notes dated October 16 or earlier to cross, the Dawn newspaper reported.
Mir Naveed Jan Kalmati, president of the Gwadar Chamber of Commerce and Industry, confirmed that the crossing, also known as Gate 250, has reopened.
"Pakistan has opened the border with Iran at Gabd-Rimdan... and allowed trucks and other vehicles to move toward Iran and Pakistan with import and export goods," Kalmati said.
Welcoming the decision, he said the resumption of cross-border trade would bring immediate relief to traders and transporters stranded on both sides.
Kalmati said the restored supply chain is expected to ease the nationwide LPG shortage and reduce soaring energy and food prices across Pakistan.
The reopening of the border comes days after Pakistan Army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir's visit to Iran, during which he held talks with the Iranian leadership on bilateral relations and regional issues.
Pakistan's commerce ministry had suspended cross-border trade and movement on October 17. Though the ministry did not specify a reason for the decision, the suspension was believed to be linked to security concerns.
The suspension had affected LPG supplies in Pakistan, as demand for the fuel rises with the onset of winter.
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The reopening on Saturday followed a review of the security situation by local administrators, who deployed additional forces to protect trade convoys.
Pakistan and Iran share a 909-km border between Iran's Sistan and Baluchestan province and Pakistan's Balochistan province. The border crossings serve as important routes for bilateral commerce and the movement of goods in the region.
Iran's Ambassador to Pakistan Reza Amiri Moghadam on Sunday said there were no restrictions on the Iranian side on exports to Pakistan, including LPG, and that Iran's borders with all its neighbouring countries remained open.
He said changes in Pakistan's E-Form procedure for imports from Iran had left traders "effectively and literally unable to dispatch cargo from Iran to Pakistan". Consultations with the Pakistani side were underway to resolve the issue, he said.
Moghadam also said several hundred trucks carrying LPG had crossed the Rimdan border into Gabd on the Pakistani side but had remained there for weeks without being unloaded or cleared, complicating the movement of goods and bilateral trade.
Describing cross-border trade as an integral part of bilateral agreements reached at the highest levels, he said Iran remained committed to facilitating the movement of goods and strengthening economic cooperation with Pakistan.