Iran-Pakistan maritime route: From pilgrimage to trade.
In early November this year, during the visit of our country’s Minister of Roads and Urban Development, Ms. Farzaneh Sadiq, to Islamabad, the proposal for a shipping line between the two countries was raised in her meeting with the Minister of Maritime Affairs of Pakistan.
Muhammad Junaid Anwar proposed the launch of a direct shipping line between Pakistan and Iran, emphasizing that this service could be a cost-effective and efficient alternative for the prosperity of tourism and commercial activities.
He also announced that Pakistan welcomes any Iranian entrepreneur or company interested in cooperation in this field, and noted that the reasonable price of fuel in Iran can keep fares affordable for travelers.
Four months ago (13 Mordad 1404), the Ministry of Maritime Affairs of Pakistan confirmed that the country would grant a license to launch a shipping line for the Islamic Republic of Iran route to an international shipping company for the first time; a move that Islamabad has described as a historic step for the development of tourism, especially people-to-people communication via sea routes.
Meanwhile, unconfirmed news was published on Pakistani social media by some domestic users about the start of a passenger ship between Iran’s Chabahar port and Pakistan’s Karachi port, which, of course, did not mention any official source or relevant government institutions.
A reliable source in the Pakistani Ministry of Maritime Affairs told IRNA today that the operationalization of the shipping line with Iran is in the final stages, and the first traffic will be from Karachi Port to Gwadar and to Iran’s Chabahar Port.
Pakistan has been raising the idea of launching a shipping line with Iran for more than a decade.
After the terrorist attacks in recent years on the route of Pakistani pilgrim caravans in Balochistan province towards the joint border terminal with Iran, in 2014, the then government of Islamabad first proposed the launch of a shipping line from Pakistani ports to Chabahar and Bandar Abbas to facilitate the movement of Pakistani pilgrims away from the hardships of land travel.
Economic and tourism experts consider the launch of a sea route between Iran and Pakistan as a good opportunity to boost trade, expand the two countries’ share of maritime tourism, and increase job creation.
In recent months, the launch of several direct flights between Iran and Pakistan, especially on the Tehran-Islamabad route, has greatly contributed to the easy movement of people in the form of pilgrimage, tourism, and business trips.