Pakistan has opened two new overland trade routes — one through Iran and one through China — giving landlocked Central Asian countries a way to reach Pakistani seaports without passing through Afghanistan. The move comes after Islamabad indefinitely shut down its Torkham and Chaman border crossings with Afghanistan in October 2025, citing persistent cross-border militant threats.
Both corridors became active in April 2026. One runs through Iran’s Gabd-Rimdan border crossing, while the other passes through China’s Sost Dry Port. Combined, the two routes have already carried more than 14,000 metric tons of cargo.
The launch of one corridor was marked by a formal ceremony in Karachi, where senior officials from Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan were present. Pakistan positioned the new routes as a long-term solution for Central Asian nations looking to reach global markets without depending on Afghan transit. The inaugural convoy transported frozen meat and other goods to Tashkent and Bishkek by way of Iran.
Pakistan also sent its first export shipment from the Karachi Export Processing Zone to Kyrgyzstan through the Sost Dry Port, operating under the TIR — or Transports Internationaux Routiers — international transit system. The 3,300-kilometer corridor between Bishkek and Karachi, which functions under the Quadrilateral Traffic in Transit Agreement, has already seen its first two-way commercial exchanges, with Kyrgyz transport fleets bringing minerals and textiles into Pakistan.
In a separate development, the Hemani Group used Pakistan’s electronic customs platform, known as the Pakistan Single Window, to ship a 23.9-tonne load to Kyrgyzstan.
The new corridors give Central Asian nations, including Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, overland access to the Arabian Sea through Pakistan. Uzbekistan has already started using the Gabd-Rimdan route to move agricultural equipment and industrial raw materials.
Pakistan is also working to expand the role of Gwadar Port as part of Phase 2 of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. Situated roughly 400 kilometers east of the Strait of Hormuz, the port is expected to handle growing cargo volumes as the new land routes attract more regional trade.
The expanded network also broadens the use of both the TIR transit framework and the Pakistan Single Window system, which handles customs paperwork electronically for shipments crossing international borders.
