Pakistan Opens Six Land Corridors to Iran Amid Hormuz Blockade
Abid Hussain
Amid the US-Iran conflict that has disrupted maritime shipping, Pakistan has activated six land corridors to Iran, allowing the transit of thousands of stranded containers from Karachi port. The move, announced on April 25, coincides with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi's visit to Islamabad and reflects Pakistan's mediation role. The new routes bypass Afghanistan, whose border crossings have become unreliable due to tensions with Pakistan.
Islamabad, Pakistan – On April 25, Pakistan's Ministry of Commerce issued the 2026 Regulations on Transit of Goods through the Territory of Pakistan, effective immediately, allowing goods from third countries to be transported overland through Pakistan and delivered to Iran.
The move came as over 3,000 containers of Iranian-bound cargo were stranded at Karachi port for days, with ships unable to sail due to the US Navy blockade of Iranian ports and the Strait of Hormuz. War risk insurance premiums have surged from around 0.12% of vessel value before the conflict to about 5%, making them unaffordable for many operators.
The announcement coincided with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi's April 24 visit to Islamabad, where he held talks with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Army Chief Asim Munir as part of Pakistan's mediation efforts to resolve the two-month conflict between Washington and Tehran.
Federal Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan described the initiative as "a significant step toward promoting regional trade and strengthening Pakistan's role as a key trade corridor." Iran has not yet issued an official comment.
The six designated routes connect Pakistan's major ports — Karachi, Port Qasim, and Gwadar — with two Iranian border crossings, Gabd and Taftan. All routes pass through Balochistan province via Turbat, Panjgur, Khuzdar, Quetta, and Dalbandin. The shortest, the Gwadar-Gabd corridor, cuts travel time to the Iranian border to 2-3 hours, compared to 16-18 hours from Karachi port. Officials say this route could reduce transport costs by 45-55%.
The US-Iran conflict began on February 28 when US and Israeli forces attacked Iran. In subsequent weeks, Iran restricted traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, which in peacetime carries about one-fifth of the world's oil and gas. Pakistan brokered an April 8 ceasefire and hosted the first direct US-Iran talks in Islamabad on April 11, but no deal was reached. Two days later, the US imposed a naval blockade of Iranian ports, tightening Tehran's maritime access. A second round of talks stalled when US President Donald Trump canceled the Islamabad visit of envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner over the weekend. Iran has said it will not negotiate directly with Washington while the blockade remains, although Foreign Minister Araghchi told Pakistani officials that Tehran would continue to engage with Islamabad's mediation efforts "until results are achieved."
The new corridors also reflect a strategic shift as Pakistan-Afghanistan relations have severely deteriorated. Clashes in October 2025 and February-March 2026 have made the Torkham and Chaman border crossings unreliable trade routes. Iftikhar Firdous, co-founder of The Khorasan Diary, said: "This is a paradigm shift. Pakistan can bypass Afghanistan entirely for westward trade. The impact on Kabul's transit role and revenue is strategic, not immediate — but very real." Minhas Majeed Marwat, a geopolitical analyst in Peshawar, warned: "A cornered Afghanistan is an unstable Afghanistan, and Pakistan knows that better than anyone. The opportunities are real. So are the risks."
The transit order does not apply to goods originating from India. A separate Commerce Ministry order in May 2025, following the India-Pakistan air war, bans transit of Indian goods through Pakistan by any means and remains in force.
