The ships were supposed to come. They did not.
At Karachi Port — Pakistan’s largest and busiest maritime hub — more than 3,000 containers sit loaded with cargo destined for Iran. What is in them is not known. But the vessels that were supposed to collect them have not arrived, and with tensions in the Strait of Hormuz escalating, there is no clarity on when those ships might finally be able to reach Karachi.
Pakistan’s response has been decisive. On April 25, 2026, the Ministry of Commerce issued the Transit of Goods through Territory of Pakistan Order 2026 — a formal statutory regulatory order establishing a legal framework for the overland movement of Iran-bound goods across Pakistani soil.
Islamabad has cleared the way for Iran to import goods from third countries through Pakistani territory by opening new transit routes. The development comes amid Pakistan’s efforts to enhance regional trade as Islamabad seeks to stabilize its economy under a $7 billion IMF programme.
The Crisis Behind the Order: A Dual Blockade Squeezing Iran
To understand why Pakistan acted, you need to understand the severity of what is happening in the waters to Pakistan’s west.
Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has been largely blocked since February 28, 2026, when the United States and Israel launched an air war against Iran and assassinated its Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard issued warnings forbidding passage through the strait, boarded and attacked merchant ships, and laid sea mines.
Since April 13, the US has blockaded Iranian ports, creating what analysts now describe as a “dual blockade” of the strait — with the US Navy blockading Iran and Iran blockading the Gulf simultaneously. Until this conflict, the Strait of Hormuz was open and carried approximately 25% of the world’s seaborne oil trade and 20% of the world’s LNG.
This disruption is part of a wider pressure strategy shaped under President Donald Trump — one that analysts say is designed not to halt trade completely, but to control it. Trump wrote on Truth Social: “Iran is collapsing financially. They want the Strait of Hormuz opened immediately — starving for cash!”
For Pakistan, this is not a distant geopolitical abstraction. It is a port congestion crisis unfolding in real time.
What the Order Actually Does
The Government of Pakistan’s Transit of Goods Order 2026, released by the Ministry of Commerce, is enacted in pursuance of a 2008 bilateral agreement between Pakistan and Iran on the road transport of passengers and goods. The directive, which came into force immediately, applies specifically to the transportation of transit goods in transport units consigned from third-party countries and destined for the territory of Iran.
This is a crucial legal clarification. The order does not just cover Pakistani exports to Iran — it covers goods from any third country that pass through Pakistan’s ports and need to reach Iran overland. The notification did not say whether Iran could export goods to third countries via Pakistan.
Under the definitions provided in the order, the government has formalised the process of cross-stuffing, which allows for the transfer of goods between containers or other modes of transportation as permitted by relevant customs laws. The order mandates Customs Security, requiring traders or their authorised brokers to submit an encashable financial guarantee for transit goods — for an amount equivalent to Pakistan’s import levies.
The Six Routes: Pakistan’s Overland Map to Iran
The following six routes have been designated for the transit of goods to Iran under the order:
Route 1: Gwadar — Gabd
Route 2: Karachi/Port Qasim — Layari — Ormara — Pasni — Gabd
Route 3: Karachi/Port Qasim — Khuzdar — Dalbandin — Taftan
Route 4: Gwadar — Turbat — Hoshab — Panjgur — Nagg — Besima — Khuzdar — Quetta/Lakpass — Dalbandin — Nokundi — Taftan
Route 5: Gwadar — Liari — Khuzdar — Quetta/Lakpass — Dalbandin — Nokundi — Taftan
Route 6: Karachi/Port Qasim — Gwadar — Gabd
Read more: Pakistan Opens Overland Trade Corridor Through Iran to Central Asia — A Strategic Milestone
These routes connect major port cities with border crossings such as the Gabd border crossing and the Taftan border crossing, both critical gateways for bilateral trade. The move aims to ease mounting congestion at maritime hubs, including Karachi Port and Port Qasim, creating logistical bottlenecks for exporters and importers on both sides.
Two of the six routes terminate at Gabd near Gwadar in southern Balochistan — the newer, more strategically significant crossing. Four routes connect through Taftan in central Balochistan, Pakistan’s traditional land border with Iran. The routing through Gwadar on multiple corridors is not coincidental — it is a deliberate reinforcement of Gwadar’s role as a regional logistics hub.
The Karachi Congestion Crisis — and What It Costs
The human and commercial cost of the stranded containers is substantial and mounting.
Ships anchored off Iran’s Bandar Abbas — unable to enter or exit because of the dual blockade — have added to backlog along the entire supply chain. Vessels linked to the United States, Israel, or countries enforcing sanctions are denied outright by Iran’s Hormuz-control regime.
According to Mohammed Rajpar, chairman of Pakistan’s Ship Agents Association, the cost of insurance has soared since the start of the war. “Before the conflict, war-risk insurance stood at around 0.12 percent of a vessel’s value. It has since climbed to roughly 5 percent — if coverage is available at all. For a very large crude carrier valued at $100 million, that means a premium of about $5 million for a single transit.”
Container trade faces greater disruption than oil shipments due to tighter margins and time-sensitive cargo. Industry representatives say insurance surges have directly increased transit costs and discouraged container shipments entirely.
Documents seen by Al Jazeera show Iran is seeking land transit for stranded cargo, with Iran even willing to pay Pakistani truckers additional fees if they were willing to go all the way to the eventual destination inside the Islamic Republic, despite the land route being slower and more expensive than shipping.
Pakistan’s Karachi Port Trust has also announced significant storage charge waivers at its terminals to reduce the financial burden on cargo owners whose containers are caught in the congestion.
The Diplomatic Logic: Why Pakistan Is Doing This
The order is not purely commercial. It sits inside a carefully managed diplomatic posture.
Pakistan is simultaneously the world’s sole trusted mediator between Washington and Tehran — having brokered the April 8 ceasefire and hosted the Islamabad Talks — and the holder of a mutual defence pact with Saudi Arabia under which it has deployed fighter jets to King Abdulaziz Air Base. Walking that line requires constant recalibration.
Pakistan has eyed Iran as an alternative trade corridor for exports to Central Asia as its traditional overland routes through Afghanistan have faced repeated disruptions due to heightened Islamabad-Kabul tensions. The Directorate General of Transit Trade said: “The increasing volume of international trade and regional connectivity will bring economic benefit for Pakistan and regional countries.”
By issuing a formal legal framework — grounded in the 2008 bilateral road transport agreement — Pakistan has done something important: it has given its Iran transit commitment institutional permanence, not just an ad hoc wartime exception. The order is a statutory regulatory instrument that will outlast the current conflict.
In response to growing congestion at Karachi port, Pakistan has activated six overland transit routes. US negotiators including Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were preparing for a second round of talks in Pakistan under Pakistani mediation — confirming that Washington is aware of and has not objected to Pakistan’s humanitarian transit role.
Gwadar’s Strategic Moment
The prominence of Gwadar across multiple designated corridors signals a deliberate strategy to elevate the port’s role beyond CPEC logistics.
Three of the six routes pass through or originate at Gwadar — including the direct Gwadar-Gabd corridor, the shortest and most efficient path to the Iranian border. As Iran seeks alternatives to its blockaded maritime ports, Gwadar’s position as a staging point for overland delivery to Iran could generate a sustained increase in transit cargo volumes.
This is precisely the commercial case that Pakistan’s port authorities and CPEC planners have made for years: that Gwadar’s value lies not just in Pakistani exports, but in its capacity to serve as a transshipment and transit hub for the broader region. The crisis has created the demand that decades of promotional roadshows failed to generate.
What Comes Next: Monitoring, Enforcement and the Road Ahead
The legal framework is in place. The routes are designated. The financial guarantee mechanism is active. What comes next depends on how effectively Pakistan manages the implementation — and how long the Hormuz disruption continues.
The order clarifies that a transit transport corridor is a route for use by a carrier for the transit of goods. The transportation of cargo shall be regulated in accordance with the Customs Act 1969, the rules made thereunder, and the procedure prescribed by the Federal Board of Revenue.
The encashable bank guarantee requirement — equivalent to Pakistan’s own import levies — gives customs authorities financial protection against misuse of transit corridors for smuggling. It is a well-designed safeguard that allows commercial flexibility without compromising Pakistan’s regulatory obligations.
Analysts caution that Iran may endure prolonged disruption. “When a leadership perceives an existential threat, economic rationality as we define it in peacetime loses primacy. They could plausibly keep the strait disrupted for longer than many assume,” one analyst told Al Jazeera.
If that analysis proves correct, Pakistan’s six overland corridors may not be a temporary wartime measure. They may be the beginning of a structural shift in how goods move between South Asia, Iran, and beyond.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q: What is the Transit of Goods through Territory of Pakistan Order 2026? It is a statutory regulatory order issued by Pakistan’s Ministry of Commerce on April 25, 2026, establishing a formal legal framework for the overland movement of goods from third countries through Pakistani territory to Iran. It designates six specific routes, sets customs security requirements including encashable bank guarantees, and is grounded in the 2008 Pakistan-Iran bilateral road transport agreement.
Q: Why are 3,000 containers stranded at Karachi port? The containers were destined for Iran but the ships scheduled to collect them have not arrived due to the dual blockade of the Strait of Hormuz — with Iran controlling vessel access on one side and the US Navy blockading Iranian ports on the other since April 13. With maritime routes unavailable, Iran-bound cargo has accumulated at Karachi with no sea-based exit.
Q: What are the two main Iran border crossings used in these routes? The Gabd border crossing near Gwadar in southern Balochistan and the Taftan border crossing in central Balochistan are the two primary gateways. The Gabd crossing is the newer, more strategically positioned entry point, while Taftan is Pakistan’s traditional land border with Iran that has operated for decades.
Q: Does this order allow Iran to export goods to other countries through Pakistan? No. The order specifically applies to goods consigned from third-party countries and destined for Iran through Pakistan. It does not address the movement of Iranian goods in the outward direction. This distinction was explicitly noted in the Ministry of Commerce notification.
Q: How does the bank guarantee mechanism work under the order? Traders or their authorised customs brokers must submit an encashable financial guarantee equivalent to Pakistan’s own import levies on the transit goods before the cargo can move across Pakistani territory. This protects Pakistani customs authorities against potential smuggling or misuse of the transit corridors, while allowing legitimate commercial cargo to flow.
Q: Why is Gwadar featured so prominently in the designated routes? Three of the six routes pass through or originate at Gwadar, including the direct Gwadar-Gabd corridor — the shortest overland path to the Iranian border. Pakistan is deliberately using the current humanitarian transit demand to increase cargo volumes at Gwadar, strengthen its role as a regional logistics hub under CPEC, and build the commercial case for long-term investment in port and road infrastructure in Balochistan.