The overland transportation of LPG and other gas products from Iran through Balochistan has been suspended amid repeated attacks on commercial vehicles, causing severe supply shortages in several major Pakistani cities, particularly in Punjab.
Security concerns surrounding border trade and continuing attacks by Baloch armed groups have halted the movement of hundreds of LPG tankers and other gas-carrying vehicles entering Balochistan from Iran, according to industry reports.
To address the resulting shortfall and ease pressure on the domestic gas market, state-owned Pakistan LNG Limited (PLL) has issued an emergency tender to purchase LNG cargoes from the international spot market at higher prices.
The procurement is intended to maintain pressure in Punjab’s gas network and supply gas-fired power plants in an effort to prevent major electricity shortages and prolonged load-shedding.
Pakistan had sought to expand overland energy imports from Iran through Balochistan following the conflict between the United States and Iran and restrictions on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. However, repeated attacks on vehicles travelling along those routes have severely disrupted that alternative supply line.
The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) announced what it described as an “economic blockade” on major highways linking Balochistan with Iran earlier this year. Since then, attacks on vehicles transporting oil, LPG, coal and other minerals have increased.
In a detailed weekly statement issued on 23 August, the BLA said its fighters had targeted 16 commercial vehicles at 11 locations between 16 and 21 August as part of the blockade.
Further attacks followed in Kalat and Chagai, where another 10 commercial trucks were damaged or disabled in separate attacks on convoys travelling along major trade routes.
The BLA said the blockade was directed against what it described as the “plundering of Balochistan’s natural resources”, “colonial exploitative projects” and the movement of Pakistani forces.
BLA spokesperson Jeeyand Baloch said blockades along Balochistan’s major commercial routes would be expanded and that vehicles and projects protecting what the group described as the Pakistani military’s economic interests would continue to be targeted.
The transportation of coal and other minerals from Balochistan to factories in Punjab has also been affected, while Pakistani forces deployed to protect commercial convoys have repeatedly come under attack.
The continuing disruption has extended the effects of the highway attacks beyond Balochistan, affecting energy supplies and industrial activity in Punjab and other major Pakistani urban centres.