Transit of Goods through Territory of Pakistan Order 2026: Six Land Routes, Third-Country Goods, and the Southeastern Bypass of Hormuz Pressure
Gwadar, Taftan, Gabd, and the Multimodal Logic of Threshold-Delaying Supply
- Wu, Shaoyuan
Global AI Governance and Policy Research Center, EPINOVA LLC
https://orcid.org/0009-0008-0660-8232
Description
This policy brief examines Pakistan’s Transit of Goods through Territory of Pakistan Order 2026 as a southeastern logistics adaptation linked to Iran-bound third-country transit under Hormuz pressure. It analyzes six designated land routes, the 6+1+1+2 logistics architecture, potential China–Pakistan rail support, the Iran–Pakistan energy layer, and air–land and sea–land extensions, including a schematic map of the six designated Pakistan–Iran transit corridors.
Abstract
This policy brief analyzes Pakistan’s Transit of Goods through Territory of Pakistan Order 2026, which designates six Iran-bound transit routes linking Karachi, Port Qasim, and Gwadar with Gabd and Taftan. The brief argues that the order does not replace Iran’s Persian Gulf maritime system, but institutionalizes a southeastern bypass capable of sustaining selective flows under pressure. Its core significance lies in third-country transit: external cargo can enter Pakistan through ports or airports and move onward to Iran by road, shifting the logistics problem from a narrow maritime chokepoint to a distributed system of ports, roads, borders, customs guarantees, financial documentation, and cargo prioritization. Building on EPINOVA–2026–PB–42’s three-layer model, the brief interprets the Pakistan corridor as a 6+1+1+2 architecture: six designated land routes, one potential China–Pakistan rail enabling layer, one Iran–Pakistan energy-infrastructure layer, and two intermodal extensions through air–land and sea–land movement. The analysis concludes that the corridor cannot reproduce Hormuz-scale maritime capacity, but can preserve minimum viable flow, support food and basic-goods continuity, maintain selected industrial inputs, and complicate blockade enforcement.
Publication files
| Name | Type | |
|---|---|---|
| Transit of Goods through Territory of Pakistan Order 2026 Six Land Routes, Third-Country Goods, and the Southeastern Bypass of Hormuz Pressure.pdf Full-text PDF of the policy brief | application/pdf | Download |
Keywords
- Pakistan
- Iran
- Transit of Goods through Territory of Pakistan Order 2026
- third-country transit
- Gwadar
- Karachi
- Port Qasim
- Gabd
- Taftan
- Balochistan
- Strait of Hormuz
- Hormuz pressure
- Iran-bound transit routes
- sea–land logistics
- air–land logistics
- China–Pakistan rail
- CPEC
- Iran–Pakistan gas pipeline
- energy connectivity
- supply resilience
- threshold-delaying supply
- logistics adaptation
- friction management
- maritime security
- EPINOVA
Subjects
- International relations
- Maritime security
- Logistics resilience
- Public policy
- Middle East security
- South Asian security
- Strategic competition
- Systemic risk
- Energy security
Recommended citation
Wu, Shaoyuan. (2026). Transit of Goods through Territory of Pakistan Order 2026: Six Land Routes, Third-Country Goods, and the Southeastern Bypass of Hormuz Pressure: Gwadar, Taftan, Gabd, and the Multimodal Logic of Threshold-Delaying Supply. EPINOVA Policy Brief Series, EPINOVA-PB-2026-043. Global AI Governance and Policy Research Center, EPINOVA LLC. https://doi.org/10.67037/epinova.pb.2026.043.
APA citation
Wu, S. (2026). Transit of goods through territory of Pakistan order 2026: Six land routes, third-country goods, and the southeastern bypass of Hormuz pressure: Gwadar, Taftan, Gabd, and the multimodal logic of threshold-delaying supply. EPINOVA Policy Brief Series, EPINOVA-PB-2026-043. Global AI Governance and Policy Research Center, EPINOVA LLC. https://doi.org/10.67037/epinova.pb.2026.043.
Alternate identifiers
| Scheme | Identifier | Description |
|---|---|---|
| EPINOVA policy brief number | EPINOVA–2026–PB–43 | Policy brief number printed in the PDF |
| EPINOVA publication identifier | EPINOVA-PB-2026-043 | Normalized EPINOVA publication identifier used in metadata records |
| Crossref DOI suffix | epinova.pb.2026.043 | Planned Crossref DOI suffix for registration after membership approval |
| URL | https://publications.epinova.org/epinova-pb-2026-043/ | Planned publication landing page for DOI resolution |
| URL | https://epinova.org/policy-brief-1 | Official EPINOVA publication page from early metadata |
| File name | Transit of Goods through Territory of Pakistan Order 2026 Six Land Routes, Third-Country Goods, and the Southeastern Bypass of Hormuz Pressure.pdf | Source PDF file name |
| Short title | Transit of Goods through Territory of Pakistan Order 2026 | Short form of the policy brief title |
| DOI | 10.67037/epinova.pb.2026.043 | Crossref DOI registered for this publication |
| DOI URL | https://doi.org/10.67037/epinova.pb.2026.043 | Resolvable DOI URL for the Crossref-registered record |
Related works
| Relation | Identifier | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| IsPartOf | https://epinova.org/policy-brief-1 | Publication series | EPINOVA Policy Brief Series |
| IsSupplementedBy | https://github.com/EPINOVALLC/EPINOVA-Research | Repository | Supplementary repository and structural archive |
| References | https://publications.epinova.org/epinova-pb-2026-042/ | Policy Brief | Related EPINOVA policy brief developing the three-layer logistics adaptation model under Hormuz pressure |
| References | https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19476666 | Policy Brief | Related EPINOVA policy brief on Russia–Iran northern supply capacity and constrained throughput methodology |
| References | https://www.dawn.com/news/1995253 | News report | Dawn report on Pakistan notifying six routes for transportation of goods to Iran |
| References | https://propakistani.pk/2026/04/27/pakistan-announces-6-land-trade-routes-for-goods-heading-to-iran/ | News report | ProPakistani report listing six designated Pakistan–Iran transit routes |
| References | https://tribune.com.pk/story/2605011/islamabad-allows-transit-trade-to-iran | News report | The Express Tribune report on third-country goods transiting Pakistan to Iran |
| References | https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/iran-pakistan-gas-pipeline-remains-stalled-under-cloud-sanctions-2024-04-24/ | News report | Reuters report on the Iran–Pakistan gas pipeline and sanctions constraints |
References
- Dawn. (2026). Pakistan notifies 6 land routes for transportation of goods to Iran amid blockade of Hormuz, Iranian ports. https://www.dawn.com/news/1995253
- ProPakistani. (2026). Pakistan Allows Iran to Import Third-Country Goods via Six Routes. https://propakistani.pk/2026/04/27/pakistan-announces-6-land-trade-routes-for-goods-heading-to-iran/
- The Express Tribune. (2026). Islamabad allows transit trade to Iran. https://tribune.com.pk/story/2605011/islamabad-allows-transit-trade-to-iran
- The Express Tribune. (2026). Govt notifies transit trade framework for goods to Iran. https://tribune.com.pk/story/2604934/pakistan-allows-transit-of-foreign-goods-to-iran-through-its-territory
- Reuters. (2024). Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline remains stalled under cloud of sanctions. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/iran-pakistan-gas-pipeline-remains-stalled-under-cloud-sanctions-2024-04-24/
- Global Energy Monitor. (2025). Iran-Pakistan Pipeline. https://www.gem.wiki/Iran-Pakistan_Pipeline
- Wu, Shaoyuan. (2026). Beyond Hormuz: Iran’s Ten-Corridor Logistics Adaptation under Blockade Pressure. Policy Brief No. EPINOVA–2026–PB–42. Global AI Governance and Policy Research Center, EPINOVA LLC. https://doi.org/10.67037/epinova.pb.2026.042.
- Wu, Shaoyuan. (2026). Russia–Iran Northern Supply Capacity: A Three-Channel Assessment of Sustained Throughput Under Constraint. Policy Brief No. EPINOVA–2026–PB–27. Global AI Governance and Policy Research Center, EPINOVA LLC. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19476666