Islamabad, Pakistan — Pakistan has halted trade with Iran at the Taftan and Gabd-Rimdan crossings in Balochistan province, leaving freight stranded on both sides of the border. The suspension decision emerged on Saturday, as the Quetta Chamber of Commerce and Industry (QCCI) in the provincial capital said about 2,000 trucks were stuck on both sides. Passenger traffic at Gabd-Rimdan has continued, reported the Iranian news agency WANA.
Pakistan’s federal government has not commented publicly. Al Jazeera received no response from authorities in Balochistan, as both Islamabad and Tehran have offered different explanations for the border closure. Bakhtiar Ismail, deputy commissioner of Chagai district, where the Taftan crossing is located, described the move as a security measure.
The border will be opened as soon as effective measures are in place,” he wrote on X on Saturday. Shahid Rind, an aide to Balochistan’s chief minister on political and media affairs, wrote on X the same day that the closure was meant to address security concerns, prevent smuggling and make the border system more effective. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Esmaeil Baghaei, gave a different explanation.
Imtiaz Baloch, a Quetta-based independent researcher who focuses on security in Balochistan, said security might be only part of the explanation. Javad Heiran-Nia, who heads the Persian Gulf Studies Group at the Center for Scientific Research and Middle East Strategic Studies in Iran, said Tehran’s wording could cover several issues. Pakistan has mediated between Washington and Tehran since the US-Israeli war on Iran began on February 28.
Islamabad brokered a ceasefire on April 8, but it collapsed within days. The US subsequently blockaded Iran’s southern ports. With Iranian ports blocked, an April 25 Commerce Ministry order allowed third-country goods to be trucked to Iran along six routes ending at Gabd and Taftan.
In June, Pakistan and Qatar brokered the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, signed electronically by US President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. It called for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, lifting the blockade and 60 days of talks on a lasting settlement. The agreement lasted about a month.
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