₦airaland Forum

Islamabad, Pakistan – Pakistan has opened six overland transit routes for goods destined for Iran, formalising a road corridor through its territory as thousands of containers remain stranded at Karachi port because of the United States blockade of Iranian ports and ships trying to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.

The Ministry of Commerce issued the Transit of Goods through Territory of Pakistan Order 2026 on April 25, bringing it into immediate effect. The order allows goods originating from third countries to be transported through Pakistan and delivered to Iran by road.

The announcement coincided with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi’s visit to Islamabad for talks with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and army chief Asim Munir, the latest in a series of diplomatic engagements as Pakistan seeks to mediate an end to the two-month war between Washington and Tehran.

Federal Minister for Commerce Jam Kamal Khan described the initiative as “a significant step toward promoting regional trade and enhancing Pakistan’s role as a key trade corridor”.

Iran has not publicly commented on the move, and Al Jazeera’s query to the Iranian embassy in Islamabad went unanswered.

The notification does not extend to Indian-origin goods. A separate Commerce Ministry order issued in May 2025, following the India-Pakistan aerial war that month, bans the transit of goods from India through Pakistan by any mode and remains in force.

Routes and regulations

The six designated routes link Pakistan’s main ports, Karachi, Port Qasim and Gwadar, with two Iranian border crossings, Gabd and Taftan, passing through Balochistan via Turbat, Panjgur, Khuzdar, Quetta and Dalbandin

The shortest route, the Gwadar-Gabd corridor, reduces travel time to the Iranian border to between two and three hours, compared with the 16 to 18 hours it takes from Karachi – Pakistan’s biggest port – to the Iranian border. The Gwadar-Gabd route could cut transport costs by 45 to 55 percent compared with costs from Karachi port, according to officials.

But for Iran, firms sending their goods to the country, and transporters, all routes into Iranian territory today are viable options, with the principal maritime passage they have traditionally used – the Strait of Hormuz – blockaded by the US Navy.

Corridor shaped by conflict

The current US-Iran war began on February 28, when US and Israeli forces launched attacks on Iran.

In the weeks that followed, Iran restricted commercial navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway through which roughly a fifth of the world’s oil and gas passes during peacetime, disrupting one of the most critical arteries of global trade.



Pakistan brokered a ceasefire on April 8 and hosted the first round of direct US-Iran talks on April 11, in Islamabad. The negotiations lasted nearly a day but ended without a deal. Two days later, Washington imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports, throttling Tehran’s maritime access.

A second round of talks has since stalled. US President Donald Trump cancelled a planned visit to Islamabad by special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner last weekend.

Iran has ruled out direct negotiations with Washington while the blockade remains in place, though Araghchi told Pakistani officials that Tehran would continue engaging with Islamabad’s mediation efforts “until a result is achieved”.

The transit order appears to be a direct economic response to that impasse.

More than 3,000 containers destined for Iran have been stuck at Karachi port for several days, with vessels unable to collect the cargo. War-risk insurance premiums have surged from about 0.12 percent of a vessel’s value before the conflict to roughly 5 percent, making shipping to the region too expensive for many operators.

Ironfaceman:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/4/30/pakistan-opens-up-road-trade-routes-into-iran-amid-hormuz-blockade

89green:
The aircraft carrier USS Gerald R Ford and the destroyers USS Mahan, USS Winston S. Churchill, and USS Bainbridge, which make up the Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group, will be leaving the Middle East to return to the U.S., two U.S. officials confirm.

tiswell:
Iran and Pakistan are one and the same.
So let the dead bury the dead

tiswell:
Iran and Pakistan are one and the same.
So let the dead bury the dead

Spaxon:
growing up

i always thought wars were bloody and all that

but these days it's just boring shit

tishbite41:
Iran is what Nigeria is supposed to be

CorrectionFLuid:
.
US Drones will send packages to select targets on that road.
.

FreeStuffsNG:
Trump ain't seen nothing yet. He thinks Iran is Venezuella. He is so clueless about the West Asia.

Same thing Iran is already doing with China, Russia, Turkey, Azerbajan and Afganistan that share land borders with Iran.

Iran is still trading with Oman even during the war!

Obaofaba:
US never see anything.

The funny thing here is that, US can't fight Pakistan because they have nuclear weapons.

puremaker7:
I give it to Iran as they did not fold to bullies

Wickedtruths:
Iranian nuclear weapons are protected by the US. You can Google it if you think I'm lying.

Obaofaba:
Pakistan can level the US in few minutes with their nuclear weapons.

tiswell:
Iran and Pakistan are one and the same.
So let the dead bury the dead

SlavaUkraini:
Iran is winning the war indeed 😂😂😂😂😂

In their dreams 😂😂😂😂😂😂

Dem don go beg Pakistan for Land corridor...

Dem think say Dem Sabi close water route

Trump Sabi that game pass Dem...

Even this Pakistani Land Corridor will also have issues very soon.... I believe President Trump.

Once they start making plans to sell their Oil through that Land Corridor, Kasala go Burst..

That Terrorist regime in Iran must agree not to develop Nuclear weapons if they truly want Peace ...

Thank you for your Attention to this matter

God Bless Donald J Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu

🇺🇸🇮🇱🇺🇸🇮🇱🇺🇸🇮🇱🇺🇸🇮🇱🇺🇸🇮🇱🇺🇸🇮🇱