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Mint
28-04-2025
- Business
- Mint
In charts: Is Indo-Pak trade too little to matter?
Tensions between India and Pakistan surged following last week's terrorist attack on Indian tourists in Pahalgam, Kashmir, prompting a suspension of trade relations between the two countries. A Mint analysis of trade data shows that India remains less dependent on Pakistan, with exports far exceeding imports. The latest suspension comes against the backdrop of already weakened trade ties. Relations had suffered a major blow after the 2019 Pulwama attack, when India revoked Pakistan's most-favoured-nation status. As a result, India's exports to Pakistan collapsed from $2.1 billion in 2018-19 to just $0.8 billion in 2019-20. While exports partially recovered over the following years—reaching a five-year high of $1.2 billion in FY24—driven largely by petroleum and crude products, they have yet to return to pre-2019 levels. Imports, meanwhile, have fallen even more sharply, with India now importing almost nothing from its neighbour. Read this | Mint Primer | Why Pakistan's trade ban is more sound than fury A closer look at the trade composition reveals that manufactured goods dominate India's exports to Pakistan, accounting for nearly 70% of the total. This includes pharmaceutical supplies, engineering goods, and transport equipment. Agricultural products, led by sugar, processed fruits, and rubber, form the second-largest category, contributing 26.8% of the exports. The early 2000s marked the high point of India-Pakistan trade, with bilateral commerce growing at a compound annual growth rate of 39% between FY04 and FY09—a period marked by relative political stability. Trade continued to expand until FY14, before declining sharply in the years that followed. Today, trade volumes are too small to significantly impact either economy. The decision to shut down the Attari border is likely to affect passenger movement more than cargo flows. Read this | Mint Explainer: How will Pakistan's NOTAM impact Indian airlines? Data from the Land Ports Authority of India show that cargo movement through Attari plunged after 2018-19 and has remained low, while passenger traffic—aside from the two pandemic-affected years—has held relatively steady. Also read | Mint Explainer: India puts Indus Waters Treaty on ice—what's at stake for both sides While India-Pakistan trade is likely to come to a complete halt, exports and imports through third countries cannot be ruled out. According to estimates by the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), Indian goods worth over $10 billion reach Pakistan each year indirectly through ports such as Dubai, Singapore, and Colombo, PTI reported
New Indian Express
25-04-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Kartarpur corridor remains open amid rising India-Pakistan tensions, but pilgrim numbers dip
CHANDIGARH: Amid rising tensions between India and Pakistan following the Pahalgam attack that killed 26 tourists, the Kartarpur corridor remains open, though the number of Sikh pilgrims visiting Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, Pakistan, has reportedly declined. This comes even as the Integrated Check Post (ICP) at Attari on the Indo-Pak border in Amritsar stands shut. The ICP at Dera Baba Nanak in Punjab's Gurdaspur district, which facilitates access to the Kartarpur corridor, continues to operate, allowing pilgrims to cross over. Sources in the Land Ports Authority of India (LPAI) confirmed that around 250 pilgrims travelled to Kartarpur on Wednesday to pay obeisance at the gurdwara and returned the same evening, as per the corridor's day-return policy. Devotees continued their visit on Thursday as well, with a group of about two dozen from Machhiwara near Ludhiana and another 50 from various places crossing the border in the morning. However, the Union government has yet to clarify whether the corridor will remain open or face closure like the ICP at Attari. The shrine is of immense spiritual significance to Sikhs, as Guru Nanak Dev, the first Sikh guru, spent the last 18 years of his life there and passed away at the site. The fully air-conditioned terminal near Dera Baba Nanak features over 50 immigration counters. According to LPAI records, 10,025 devotees visited the gurdwara via the corridor in 2021, with the number rising to 86,097 in 2022 and 96,555 in 2023. Inaugurated on 9 November 2019 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the corridor is a visa-free border crossing that allows Indian citizens and Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) cardholders to visit the gurdwara, located 4.7 km from the India-Pakistan border, without requiring a visa. The corridor was closed during the COVID-19 pandemic and reopened after a gap of one and a half years in November 2021. As per the bilateral agreement, up to 5,000 pilgrims are allowed to use the corridor daily, but actual footfall remains low, averaging 200 to 400 visitors per day. Pilgrims must register online at least a week in advance with their passport details to receive an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA). Police verification is carried out prior to the issuance of ETA. In October 2023, both nations extended the corridor agreement for five more years until 2029, committing to uninterrupted access despite deteriorating diplomatic relations. Interestingly, Pakistan charges a USD 20 fee per pilgrim at its ICP, generating substantial revenue from the visiting devotees. 'In view of the continued requests of pilgrims regarding the removal of USD 20 service charge levied by Pakistan per pilgrim per visit, India has once again urged Pakistan to not levy any fee or charges on the pilgrims,' read a statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs last year. Several Sikh delegations have also urged the Indian government to press Pakistan for a waiver. Last year, Pakistan completed the 420-metre-long bridge at the Kartarpur Corridor zero line after a delay of two and a half years. Earlier, incidents of flooding had disrupted pilgrim movement to Kartarpur Sahib.
Indian Express
24-04-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
Attari border closure to hit Rs 3,800 crore India-Pakistan trade: Why Punjab's economy could be impacted disproportionately
India's decision to close the Integrated Check Post (ICP) at Attari with immediate effect, in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack, is set to halt cross-border trade worth Rs 3,886.53 crore between India and Pakistan. Bilateral trade had already been in decline since India imposed a 200 per cent duty on Pakistani goods in 2019, following the Pulwama terrorist attack, data from the Land Ports Authority of India shows. According to official data, India exported items such as soya bean, poultry feed, vegetables, red chillies, plastic granules, and plastic yarn, while importing goods including dry fruits, dates, gypsum, cement, glass, rock salt, and herbs from Pakistan via the Land Port at Attari. The port, spread over 120 acres, assumes significance since it has direct access to National Highway 1. How mutual tensions impacted trade via Attari border over the years Tensions between the two countries — particularly following the Pulwama attack — reduced trade between India and Pakistan from Rs 4,370.78 crore in 2018–19 to Rs 2,257.55 crore in 2022–23. However, trade rebounded to Rs 3,886.53 crore in 2023–24, the highest in the past five years. Notably, total cargo movement also dropped from 49,102 consignments in 2018–19 to just 3,827 in 2022–23, the data shows. In dollar terms, total India-Pakistan trade has shrunk to about $2 billion annually over the past five years, a small fraction of the $37 billion trade potential estimated by the World Bank. India's overall goods trade stands at $430 billion, while Pakistan's is approximately $100 billion. Pakistan's economic woes The aid-dependent Pakistani economy has also faced recurring bouts of high inflation following the Covid-19 pandemic and widespread social unrest. In May last year, violent street protests in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) left one police officer dead and over 90 injured, according to Pakistani media reports. The violence erupted after around 70 members of the Joint Awami Action Committee—a traders' organisation—were arrested during a strike protesting against the rising costs of food, fuel, and utilities. The economic crisis and inflation in Pakistan have created hardships for its citizens, with some traders further affected by the cessation of trade with India. Additionally, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday revised Pakistan's growth forecast downwards to 2.6 per cent, citing the impact of US tariffs, — now at 100-year highs — and warning that increasing global trade tensions would further hamper growth. How will Attari border closure impact Punjab Trade experts noted that India-Pakistan trade via the Attari border had created a significant economic ecosystem in Punjab, particularly in and around Amritsar as well as Attari. The trade provided direct and indirect employment to thousands, including transporters, porters, shopkeepers, and workers in related industries. A number of political parties particularly the Congress, the Shiromani Akali Dal and Aam Aadmi Party had demanded opening trade via the ICP during the last few years due to demands by traders in Punjab and nearby areas. However, trade is often the first casualty when tensions escalate between India and Pakistan, and the Wagah-Attari land route is no exception, the Chandigarh -based Centre for Research in Rural and Industrial Development (CRRID) said in a research report. 'Although trade restrictions adversely affect all stakeholders in India involved in Indo-Pakistan trade, the impact is far more severe in Punjab, as most of the trade through this route originates from the state, along with some from neighbouring north-western states,' the report noted. Straw reapers and cotton yarn are among the major export items from Indian Punjab via the Wagah–Attari land route. 'Straw reapers, manufactured by various small-scale units in Punjab, are a significant export to Pakistan through the ICP at Attari. Between 2016–17 and 2018–19, the number of straw reapers exported ranged from 846 to 1,110 units, with export earnings between Rs 1,844 lakh and Rs 2,488 lakh,' the report said. 'Due to trade restrictions, exports of straw reapers dropped to 100 units in 2019–20, with earnings falling to Rs 232 lakh. Exporters had expected to ship 2,441 straw reapers to Pakistan in 2020–21 under normal trade conditions, which could have generated Rs 6,195 lakh in revenue,' the report added. The Attari-Wagah land route was first opened in 2005 and truck movement on this route began in 2007. The ICP at Attari was inaugurated on April 13, 2012, under the UPA government, with provisions of facilities for fast and cost-effective land trade.
Time of India
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Sikh pilgrims allowed to enter Pakistan from Dera Baba Nanak ICP as India closes Attari border after Pahalgam attack
GURDASPUR: Even as India imposed tough measures against Pakistan following the deadly Pahalgam terror attack—including the closure of the Integrated Check Post (ICP) at the Attari international border—the ICP at Dera Baba Nanak remains operational, allowing Sikh pilgrims to continue visiting Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan. Officials from the Land Ports Authority of India (LPAI) confirmed that around 250 pilgrims crossed over to Pakistan through the Kartarpur Corridor on Thursday to pay obeisance at Gurdwara Darbar Sahib . All of them are expected to return the same evening. The shrine holds special significance for the Sikh community, as Guru Nanak Dev, the first Sikh master, spent the last 18 years of his life there. Meanwhile, scores of Pakistani nationals have gathered at the Attari border in an effort to return home, following India's directive mandating all Pakistani citizens with valid travel documents to leave the country by May 1, 2025. Several of them expressed disappointment over the decision, citing disrupted travel plans and the need to cut short their visits.
