Pakistan launches overland route to Kyrgyzstan for trade

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Customs has initiated the first export consignment from the Karachi Export Processing Zone to Kyrgyzstan through a land route under the TIR regime, creating a new trade corridor to Central Asia via Sost Dry Port in China.

According to an official announcement by the Federal Board of Revenue, the shipment was valued at $59,314 and weighed 23.9 tonnes. It comprised assorted oil, tea, henna, herbs, cream and soap exported by the Hemani Group.

The consignment was cleared electronically through the Pakistan Single Window system after the Export Processing Zone was activated as a TIR station. The FBR statement said the Directorate General of Transit Trade, Karachi, led the customs system upgrade in coordination with the Pakistan Single Window, TIR operators, PNCC-ICC and the IRU.

The statement added that all required procedures, including electronic pre-declarations, were completed to ensure uninterrupted transit of the cargo.

New route to Central Asia

The development is expected to improve regional connectivity and provide exporters operating from the Export Processing Zone with direct access to Central Asian markets, expanding Pakistan’s trade reach.

The government has also recently notified six transit routes through Iran, widening the available options for regional trade. Pakistani exporters are already using that corridor to send products including rice, kinnow and potatoes to Central Asian countries as an alternative route.

Pakistan had traditionally depended on the Chaman and Torkham border crossings for overland access to Central Asia through Afghanistan. However, those routes have remained closed since October 2025 because of increasing security concerns and cross-border militancy.

As a result, border stations with Afghanistan have been shut for all categories of trade, including transit trade destined for Central Asian markets. With those disruptions, exporters have faced limited options and have increasingly redirected shipments through Iran to reach Central Asia, as well as markets in Azerbaijan and Russia, and through the Sost border corridor via China to Kyrgyzstan.

Trade diplomacy with Tajikistan

Separately, Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan met Tajikistan’s Ambassador Sharifzoda Yusuf Toir to discuss steps aimed at increasing bilateral trade, improving transit connectivity and strengthening institutional cooperation between Pakistan and Tajikistan.

The launch of the Kyrgyzstan-bound shipment marks a further step in Pakistan’s efforts to diversify overland trade routes at a time when traditional access points to Central Asia remain unavailable.