Pahalgam attack: Pakistan shuts ports for Indian ships in tit-for-tat move

Pakistan on Saturday barred Indian ships from docking at its ports, just hours after India imposed sweeping trade and maritime restrictions on Islamabad following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people.

 

In a directive issued by Pakistan's Ministry of Maritime Affairs, Indian flag carriers would no longer be permitted at any Pakistani port. Pakistani ships, too, will not visit Indian ports. “Any exemption or dispensation shall be examined and decided on case to case basis,” according to a report in Dawn newspaper.

 

Islamabad also announced a complete suspension of trade with India, including goods routed through third countries.

 

 

India bans imports from Pakistan

 

Earlier, the Centre enforced a complete ban on imports from Pakistan, including those routed through third countries, citing national security and public policy concerns.

 

According to a notification issued by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), the new provision added to the Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) 2023 prohibits direct or indirect import or transit of all goods originating in or exported from Pakistan until further orders. The decision overrides the earlier 200 per cent duty on Pakistani goods imposed in 2019 after the Pulwama attack, which had already reduced bilateral trade to a trickle.

 

India has also banned Pakistani ships from entering Indian ports and suspended the entry of mail and parcels from Pakistan via both air and surface routes. Besides this, Indian vessels have been prohibited from visiting any Pakistani ports, according to directives from the Directorate General of Shipping.

 

This is in line with a measures taken since the deadly attack in Jammu and Kashmir. Other measures include the closure of the Attari land transit point, suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, downgrading diplomatic ties, and expulsion of Pakistani military attaches.

 

Trade impact negligible for India

 

Bilateral trade between India and Pakistan, which is already minimal, will now grind to a halt. India’s imports from Pakistan were just USD 0.42 million in April–January 2024–25, down from USD 2.88 million in 2023–24. Exports to Pakistan stood at USD 447.65 million in the same period.

 

Ajay Srivastava of the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said the ban’s impact on India would be negligible. “No one in India will miss anything except perhaps Himalayan pink salt (sendha namak),” he said. 

 

(With inputs from PTI)