The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has allowed the re-export of Afghan transit trade consignments, that had remained stuck for months at Chaman and Quetta, through Karachi’s ports.
The main border crossings with Afghanistan have remained closed to regular trade and transit since October 10, 2025, following deadly clashes along the frontier after Kabul failed to stem terrorist attacks in Pakistan originating from its soil.
On Oct 16, the FBR officially suspended all Afghan Transit Trade operations from Karachi’s ports. All gate passes for Afghan transit consignments were cancelled and clearance of such cargo was halted at Karachi Port and Port Qasim.
Read: K-P urges talks to revive Afghan border trade
Although a ceasefire was discussed in talks hosted by Qatar and Turkiye, trade has not resumed since then. More than 10,000 Pakistani and Afghan traders, along with transit trade shipments, were reportedly stranded at Karachi port, resulting in losses amounting to billions of rupees.
However, the FBR has now permitted the reverse movement and subsequent re-export of the stranded consignments in a notificated issued on Tuesday.
“Reverse movement of all stranded Afghan transit trade cargo has been allowed for its subsequent re-export from Karachi port and Port Qasim Terminal,” said the notification issued by the Directorate of Transit Trade.
According to the orders, commercial goods belonging to several countries that were stuck in Chaman and Quetta will now be moved to the ports of Karachi.
The notification directed concerned tracking and monitoring companies to end the trip of the stranded cargo at Halting Station, Chaman, and NLC Dry Port, Quetta, and then initiate the reverse movement from those stations to Karachi ports.
The FBR stated that the reverse movement of transit trade goods would be carried out in accordance with all applicable rules and regulations. For the transportation of transit goods from the borders, bonded carriers would be required to submit applications to the FBR.
Under the directives, one customs official will accompany every convoy of up to 15 vehicles during the transfer. “A sepoy shall be deputed with each convoy of up to 15 vehicles who will only be responsible to collect manual acknowledgment on manual transport notes for record,” the notification said.
The FBR further directed that tracking companies must submit certificates confirming that all monitoring devices were functional and that the consignment was “good to go”. It added that all payments related to tracking and monitoring devices for the reverse journey of each container must be fully cleared.
A manual transport note will be issued for each bonded vehicle carrying transit trade goods, containing complete details of the vehicle and the driver. Each manual transport note will be signed by the sealing officer of the Directorate of Transit Trade, Quetta.
Containers carrying transit goods will be cleared after thorough inspection by the customs department. The representative or bonded carrier will also issue a duly signed carrier manifest for each vehicle and certify in writing that the stranded cargo remained safe and that all seals are intact.
“Customs staff at Quetta/Chaman will inspect PCCSS and shipper seals and if any seal is found to be tampered or broken, or where any discrepancy is observed in weight or scanning report, such consignment shall be subject to proper examination,” the notification stated.
