Gabd Border Crossing With Iran Reopens After Week
Pakistan has reopened the Gabd border crossing with Iran after a weeklong suspension, letting stranded trucks carrying LPG and essential food items move again. Border officials began clearing commercial consignments on Saturday morning at the crossing in Gwadar, known as Gate 250.
Only consignments holding a consignment note dated October 16 or earlier were cleared to cross at first. Officials said the step would restore bilateral trade at a point that had been shut since October 17, when the Ministry of Commerce abruptly suspended trade at Gabd-Rimdan and Taftan.
Mir Naveed Jan Kalmati, president of the Gwadar Chamber of Commerce and Industry, confirmed the reopening. He said Pakistan had opened the border at Gabd-Rimdan in the morning and allowed trucks and other vehicles to move toward Iran and Pakistan with import and export goods.
Kalmati welcomed the decision. He said the resumption of cross-border commerce would bring immediate relief to traders and transporters stranded on both sides of the border. He added that the restored supply chain was expected to ease a nationwide LPG shortage and reduce soaring energy and food prices across Pakistan.
Why the Gabd border crossing reopened now
Saturday’s reopening came after local administrators reviewed the security situation and deployed additional forces to protect trade convoys. The extra deployment followed an attack earlier in the week on the backlog of freight vehicles parked near the closed crossing.
On Thursday, unidentified gunmen targeted the parked vehicles and set dozens of trucks ablaze, damaging several others. Those trucks had been stranded since the suspension began. The commerce ministry’s memorandum had withdrawn an October 3 trade order with immediate effect, without giving a reason for the halt.
The reopening also followed a partial easing earlier in the week. Traders cited in other reporting said Gabd-Rimdan had reopened on Wednesday for Pakistani exports of perishable goods, while LPG imports stayed halted. Saturday’s move went further, restoring movement for LPG and essential food consignments as well.
Pakistan had suspended trade through Gabd-Rimdan and Taftan on October 17, a step that left hundreds of trucks, including LPG tankers, stuck on both sides. The closure hit households hard. LPG dealers shut their shops in protest as the shortage deepened, and an earlier crackdown on profiteering had already been delayed. Reuters reporting during the closure put a 12-kilogram cylinder at around Rs7,000 in Balochistan, Rs7,500 in Lahore and Rs8,200 in Skardu.
What the reopening means for LPG supplies
The LPG shortage is the most urgent part of the story. Pakistan imports a large share of its LPG through the Iran crossings, and the weeklong halt cut that flow at the start of winter demand. Traders had warned that prices would keep rising while trucks stayed parked.
The restored crossing should let backlogged tankers clear first, since only consignments with notes dated October 16 or earlier were cleared at the start. That order suggests officials want the oldest cargo moving before fresh bookings pile up behind it.
For households, the test will be prices at the shop, not announcements at the border. Cylinder prices rose sharply during the closure, and traders say it will take steady crossings, not a single day of movement, to bring them down. The Gwadar chamber’s hope is that a stable supply chain will do that work over the coming days.
Security remains the open question. The Thursday arson attack showed that parked convoys are easy targets, which is why administrators added forces to guard trade convoys. A security operation near Gwadar days earlier showed the same risk. If the convoys move safely, the crossing can stay open. If attacks resume, another closure cannot be ruled out.
For now, the border is open, the trucks are moving, and traders on both sides have the relief they sought for a week. The next sign to watch is whether LPG prices in Balochistan and Punjab start to fall as the backlogged tankers reach the market.
When did the Gabd border crossing reopen?
Pakistan reopened the Gabd-Rimdan crossing on Saturday morning, October 24, 2026, after a suspension that began on October 17.
Which consignments were cleared first?
Border officials cleared commercial consignments holding a consignment note dated October 16 or earlier at the Gabd-Rimdan point, known as Gate 250, in Gwadar.
Why was the crossing closed?
The Ministry of Commerce suspended trade at Gabd-Rimdan and Taftan on October 17, withdrawing an October 3 trade order with immediate effect and without giving a reason.
