Despite tension and border closure in India-Pakistan, so much trade happened in May

Updated: 05-07-2025, 02.25 PM

What is news?

Tension in India and Pakistan is at its peak after the Pahalgam attack. The two countries had talked about stopping the trade with each other. However, both countries are doing business through third countries. Pakistani newspaper Dawn Citing the data from State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), it said that between July 2024 and May 2025, imports from India have reached a 3 -year high.

Statistics

How much trade took place in both countries?

Dawn According to the import of $ 21.15 million from India in 11 months of the last financial year, which was $ 20.7 million in FY 2023-24 and $ 19 million in FY 2022-23. In May, when tension in the two countries was at its peak, Pakistan imported $ 1.5 million from India. However, this is a little lower than in May last year, when $ 1.7 million items were imported from India.

Dependence

Unilateral trade in both countries, Pakistan depends on India

Import and export figures in both countries show that Pakistan is dependent on India for many things. In FY 2023-24 and 2022-23, Pakistan exported goods worth $ 34.4 lakh and $ 3.3 lakh respectively to India, which highlights the unilateral nature of bilateral trade. In the first 11 months of 2025, this figure was only 5 million dollars. This shows that India is selling more goods to Pakistan.

Country

Which countries are trading through?

A businessman from Pakistan said that these goods from India have reached the route of the third country and the trade that has taken place in May must have been paid before the commencement of ‘Operation Sindoor’.
Dawn “India’s informal exports to Pakistan are estimated to be $ 10 billion annually to Pakistan, mainly through Dubai, Colombo and Singapore,” said a research institution quoted as saying.

Business

Formal trade is closed since 2019

The formal trade between India and Pakistan has been closed since 2019. Article 370 was then removed from Kashmir. After the Pahalgam terror attack on 22 April, India also closed movement and trade from the attic border, including canceling the Indus Water Treaty and banning the visa. In response, Pakistan also banned trade with India. It also included trade through third countries.