Govt's ban will cut India's import from Pakistan to zero from $0.5 million: GTRI's Ajay Srivastava

The Indian import from Pakistan will come down to zero from the current level of about half a million US dollars between both neighbouring countries, following a fresh ban announced by the Centre, Ajay Srivastava, Founder of the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), said in a note.

India has imposed an immediate ban on the direct or indirect import and transit of all goods originating in or exported from Pakistan, regardless of their import status, effectively halting bilateral trade flows.

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The move comes amid the growing tension between India and Pakistan following the dastardly attack in Pahalgam in which 26 tourists lost their lives.

"India's already minuscule imports from Pakistan--barely USD 0.5 million a year--will now drop to zero. No one in India will miss anything except perhaps Himalayan pink salt (Sendha Namak), extracted from salt deposits of Pakistan," Ajay Srivastava, Founder of GTRI, told ANI.

Srivastava said that the move to ban the import from Pakistan is mostly symbolic, as India had already imposed 200 per cent tariffs after the 2019 Pulwama attack. The heavy tariffs post the Pulwama attack reduced imports to around USD 0.42 million between April 2024 and January 2025.

These imports were limited to niche items like figs (USD 78000), Basil and Rosemary herbs (USD 18856), and Himalayan pink salt.

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He further stated in the note, "India doesn't depend on Pakistgoods, so the economic impact is minimal. However, Pakistan still needs Indian products and may continue accessing them through third countries through recorded and unrecorded routes."

Going further, as per the information available on the official website of the High Commission of India in Islamabad, major items of import by India from Pakistan are copper and copper articles, edible fruits and nuts, cotton, salt, sulphur and earth and stones, organic chemicals, mineral fuels, plastic products, wool, glassware, raw hides & skin, etc.

On the other hand, the main items of export from India to Pakistan are cotton, organic chemicals, food products, including prepared animal fodder, edible vegetables, plastic articles, man-made filament, coffee, tea, spices, dyes, oil seeds, dairy products, pharmaceuticals, etc.

According to a latest estimate by the GTRI, Indian goods worth over USD 10 billion reach Pakistan via third-country trade routes. GTRI further added in a note that some firms are using ports like Dubai, Singapore, and Colombo to send Indian goods to Pakistan, allowing Indian products to reach Pakistan despite trade restrictions.

Following the terror attack in Pahalgam that killed 26 people, the Central government announced several diplomatic measures, such as closing the Integrated Check Post (ICP) at Attari, suspending the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme (SVES) for Pakistani nationals, giving them 40 hours to return to their country, and reducing the number of officers in the High Commissions on both sides.

India has also halted the Indus Waters Treaty signed in 1960 in the wake of the Pahalgam attack.