Pakistan’s recorded imports from India rose 68.9% to $61.74 million in July–September 2026, while the route behind the reported trade remains unclear.
Pakistan’s recorded imports from India increased by 68.9% year-on-year to $61.74 million during July–September 2026, despite restrictions on bilateral trade between the two countries. The latest figures have raised questions about how goods recorded as imports from India are reaching Pakistan.
According to data compiled by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and reported by Dawn on October 27, Pakistan imported goods worth $61.74 million from India during the first quarter of the 2026–27 financial year, compared with $36.55 million in the corresponding period last year. Pakistan recorded no exports to India during the same quarter.
The figures do not identify the precise route taken by the goods or establish whether they were shipped directly from India or through intermediary countries.
Why are trade restrictions in place?
India prohibited the direct or indirect import and transit of all goods originating in or exported from Pakistan through a notification issued by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) on May 2, 2025. The measure followed the Pahalgam terror attack and was introduced on national security and public policy grounds.
Pakistan also prohibited imports of Indian-origin goods, including shipments routed through third countries, according to trade advisories issued after the restrictions were announced in May 2025. Direct bilateral trade has remained suspended.
Are third countries being used as transit routes?
The latest figures have renewed questions about possible indirect trade through regional trading hubs such as the United Arab Emirates, Singapore and Sri Lanka. However, the reported import data does not establish which routes, if any, account for Pakistan’s recorded imports from India.
A separate development shows that third-country routing has been used to circumvent India’s restrictions in the opposite direction.
In October 2026, India’s Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) announced an operation involving 295 containers carrying 7,311 metric tonnes of Pakistani-origin industrial and Himalayan rock salt, with an estimated market value of around ₹30 crore. The consignments had been routed through Colombo, Sri Lanka, with documents falsely declaring their origin and UAE-based entities issuing fabricated invoices, according to the government.
The DRI said the shipments had entered India through Mundra and Kandla ports since March 2026. Five containers carrying 140 tonnes of salt were seized at Kandla Port, and sales proceeds held in importers’ bank accounts were also seized. Four people were arrested in connection with the case.
In another case announced in August 2026, the DRI seized 364 tonnes of Pakistani-origin dry dates worth approximately ₹3 crore at Kandla Port. The goods had been shipped through Dubai and declared as originating in the UAE.
These cases demonstrate that authorities have uncovered attempts to conceal the Pakistani origin of goods entering India through third countries. However, they do not prove that the goods recorded in Pakistan’s latest import figures followed the same routes.
Pakistan’s wider regional trade picture
The increase in imports from India comes as Pakistan’s overall trade deficit with nine neighbouring countries has widened.
According to the same SBP data reported by Dawn, Pakistan’s regional trade deficit rose 26.62% to $4.97 billion in July–September 2026, compared with $3.93 billion a year earlier.
Pakistan’s combined imports from the nine neighbouring countries increased 19.79% to $5.92 billion, while exports to these markets fell 6.72% to $944.24 million.
Imports from China, Pakistan’s largest regional trading partner in the figures, increased 19.76% to $5.82 billion. The wider trade figures provide context for Pakistan’s import trends but do not explain the increase in imports recorded from India.
What remains unknown?
The central question is how Pakistan’s customs and trade statistics classify the $61.74 million in imports attributed to India when direct bilateral trade remains suspended.
A detailed breakdown of the products, country of origin, country of dispatch and shipping routes would help clarify the situation. Until such information becomes available, it would be premature to conclude that all the goods were shipped directly from India or that the increase proves a violation of either country’s restrictions.
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