Pakistan’s imports from India are growing again despite tensions, with medicines leading the rise

Trade rebounds after fighting

Pakistan and India severed most of their remaining links in spring 2025 after years of acrimony. In May, the nuclear-armed neighbours exchanged missile and drone strikes; a ceasefire ended four days of fighting on May 10. US President Donald Trump claimed credit for the truce.

State Bank of Pakistan figures show imports from India worth $61.7 million from July to September, a 69 percent increase from the year-earlier period. Monthly payments fell from $20 million in April 2025 to $9.2 million in June and $8.2 million in July, before rising to $19.6 million in September. The monthly average was $19.3 million in the 12 months before the conflict and $19.1 million over the 13 months from September 2025, suggesting payments had largely returned to earlier levels.

Restrictions and indirect routes

Pakistan banned imports of goods originating in India or shipped from there on August 9, 2019, days after India revoked the special autonomous status of Indian-administered Kashmir. Following the 2025 Pahalgam attack and India’s suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, Pakistan’s National Security Committee imposed additional restrictions. A DRAP official speaking anonymously said Pakistan would import from India when required by the national interest, despite tensions.

Medicines drive import needs

Vaccines, blood products and similar items made up the largest import category, worth $93.6 million, compared with $70.3 million previously. Within that group, human-use vaccine imports rose to $32.3 million from $11.1 million.

India was Pakistan’s second-largest pharmaceutical supplier in 2024, narrowly behind Belgium, according to the Observatory of Economic Complexity. One speaker said Pakistani producers wanted trade reopened because importing raw materials from elsewhere could add 40 to 50 percent to costs.

An analyst told Al Jazeera that India’s competitive pharmaceutical industry supplies active pharmaceutical ingredients used to make medicines. He said prices, availability and proximity have made India a source for some Pakistani inputs; other sourcing costs vary with freight, insurance, certification, approvals and delivery reliability.

A limited sign of contact

On August 29, India repatriated 25 Pakistani nationals, including fishermen, through the Wagah-Attari border crossing. Some analysts see signs of a thaw, though the import figures and the continuing restrictions show that formal trade remains constrained.