Pakistan has opened two new overland trade corridors through Iran and China, effectively sidelining Afghanistan from regional commerce after closing its main border crossings with the country less than a year ago. The routes became operational in April 2026, offering Central Asian nations access to Pakistani ports without transiting Afghan territory — a shift that deepens Afghanistan's economic isolation even as its population faces mounting humanitarian need.
The corridors run through Iran's Gabd-Rimdan border crossing and China's Sost Dry Port. They were introduced after Pakistan indefinitely closed the Torkham and Chaman crossings in October 2025, citing persistent cross-border militancy. More than 14,000 metric tons of cargo have already moved through the two routes. One corridor was formally inaugurated during a coordination ceremony in Karachi attended by senior representatives from Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.
A Permanent Bypass
Pakistan presented the routes as a permanent alternative for Central Asian countries seeking access to global markets without relying on Afghan transit. The first convoy carried frozen meat and other exports to Tashkent and Bishkek through Iran. Pakistan also dispatched its first export shipment from the Karachi Export Processing Zone to Kyrgyzstan via the Sost Dry Port under the TIR regime.
The 3,300-kilometer Bishkek-Karachi corridor, operating under the Quadrilateral Traffic in Transit Agreement, has since completed its first reciprocal commercial shipments. Kyrgyz transport fleets have delivered minerals and textiles to Pakistan. Separately, the Hemani Group transported a 23.9-tonne consignment to Kyrgyzstan using the Pakistan Single Window electronic customs system.
The new corridors provide Central Asian countries, including Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, with overland access to the Arabian Sea through Pakistan while bypassing Afghanistan. Uzbekistan has already begun using the Gabd-Rimdan route to transport agricultural equipment and industrial raw materials.
Gwadar's Expanding Role
Pakistan is also expanding the role of Gwadar Port within Phase 2 of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. Located about 400 kilometers east of the Strait of Hormuz, the port is expected to handle increasing cargo volumes moving through the new land corridors as regional trade routes continue to diversify. The new network also expands the use of the TIR transit regime and the Pakistan Single Window system, which electronically processes customs documentation for cross-border shipments.
The infrastructure development reflects a broader regional realignment in which trade flows are being redirected around Afghanistan rather than through it. For Central Asian economies landlocked between Russia and China, the Pakistani routes offer a southern outlet that doesn't require negotiating Afghan territory or dealing with the Taliban government.
Why This Matters:
The opening of these corridors marks a significant shift in South and Central Asian trade geography, one with serious humanitarian implications for Afghanistan. By creating permanent alternatives to Afghan transit routes, Pakistan and its partners are effectively writing Afghanistan out of regional commerce at a time when the country faces severe economic collapse and widespread hunger. The decision follows security concerns, but it also removes one of Afghanistan's few potential sources of transit revenue and regional integration. As Gwadar Port expands and the Iran-China corridors become entrenched, Afghanistan's isolation deepens — not just politically under Taliban rule, but economically as trade networks are redrawn to exclude it entirely. For millions of Afghans already dependent on humanitarian aid, the loss of transit trade represents another door closing on economic recovery.