On Thursday, Pakistan permitted 150 Afghan trucks, which had been stranded while carrying goods destined for India, to cross the Wagah Border. This decision helped alleviate a weeks-long trade bottleneck, according to a statement from Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
This move follows a week after Pakistan closed its borders to all trade with India, including transit shipments from third countries, in response to India’s actions after a deadly attack in occupied Kashmir. India had insinuated, without evidence, that the attack was linked to Pakistan, a claim Pakistan denied and called for an impartial investigation.
In a document issued today, the Ministry acknowledged a request from the Afghan Embassy in Islamabad on April 28 regarding containers stranded at various transit points in Pakistan.
“The ministry is pleased to inform that, in light of the brotherly relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan, the government of Pakistan has decided to allow the stranded Afghan trucks, carrying goods in transit to India and which entered Pakistan before April 25, 2025, to cross the Wagah Border for delivery of their cargo,” the statement said.
The foreign ministry also mentioned that the list of the 150 trucks provided by the Afghan Embassy has been sent to the relevant authorities. It added that any details of additional stranded trucks, if any, should be shared promptly.
On April 24, Pakistan’s National Security Committee had decided to halt trade with India, including trade routes through Pakistan to third countries.
Trade between Pakistan and India had been suspended since February 2019 after India imposed high tariffs on Pakistani imports following the Pulwama attack, which killed 40 Indian soldiers in Indian-occupied Kashmir. Later, in August 2019, after India revoked Article 370, stripping occupied Kashmir of its special status, Pakistan downgraded trade ties with India to the level of its relationship with Israel, with which it does not maintain any commercial relations.
