Can New Delhi stop Islamabad from circumventing trade ban? Pakistan sending relabelled goods to India via UAE, Singapore
People walk past a labourer carrying sacks of grains to supply a shop in a nearby market in Muzaffarabad in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir | Reuters
India blocked all direct and indirect import of goods from Pakistan on May 3 in the aftermath of the deadly Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people. However, it has emerged that Pakistan is attempting to export goods via other countries with whom India has strong trade relations.
Indian authorities are now taking measures to stop the entry of $500 million worth of Pakistani goods. The customs department is tracking and identifying goods that have undergone origin manipulation.
It should be noted that imports from Pakistan before the Centre's ban was just $0.42 million from April 2024 to January 2025. Compared to this, Pakistani imports to India in 2020-21 was worth $2.39 million. India's exports to Pakistan during the first 10 months of FY25 was $447.65 million, including essential medicines, chemicals, sugar, auto components and petroleum products.
An official who spoke to news agency PTI said a large part of the Pakistani goods like dry fruits and chemicals exported to India previous is now being dispatched via countries like the UAE, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Indonesia.
Dry dates, fruits, textiles and leather from Pakistan are generally relabelled in the UAE before they are sent to India. Singapore serves as the intermediary for Pakistani chemicals and Sri Lanka transports salt, dried fruits and leather from Islamabad. Cement, textile raw materials and soda ash exported by Pakistan are diverted to India via Indonesia.
In 2019, India withdrew its most favoured nation (MFN) status for Pakistan following the deadly Pulwama terror attack. It also imposed 200 per cent customs duty on Pakistani imports. In FY 2019, India had exported $2.07 billion worth of goods to Pakistan while importing $495 million worth of products. However, after the Pulawama shocker, exports to Pakistan tanked by more than 60 per cent to $817 million while imports slumped to $14 million, which translates to over 97 per cent.
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