India’s new punishing measures against Pakistan — no ships, imports and mail

New Delhi: Amid rising tensions in the aftermath of the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in Kashmir, India on Saturday took a series of multi-pronged measures, banning imports as well as incoming mail and parcels from Pakistan. India also barred the docking of ships from the country at all Indian ports. Unveiling the new set of measures, India said it is banning all imports from Pakistan with immediate effect in the interest of national security and public policy. “Direct or indirect Import or transit of all goods originating in or exported from Pakistan, whether or not freely importable or otherwise permitted, shall be prohibited with immediate effect, until further orders. This restriction is imposed in the interest of national security and public policy. Any exception to this prohibition shall require prior approval of the Government of India,” a notification issued by the Ministry of Commerce said.

After the Pulwama attack on a Central paramilitary force convoy in 2019 in which 40 personnel were killed, India had imposed a 200 per cent duty on all goods imported from Pakistan, including fresh fruits, petroleum products and cement. The latest decision also prohibits the entry of Pakistani goods routed through third countries. India’s exports to Pakistan in April-January 2024-25 stood at $447.65 million, while imports were a meagre $0.42 million. These imports were limited to niche items like figs ($78,000), Basil and Rosemary herbs ($18,856), certain chemicals, and Himalayan pink salt. The imports were $2.88 million in 2023-24. A provision has been added in the Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) 2023 “to Prohibit direct or indirect import or transit of all goods originating in or exported from Pakistan with immediate effect until further orders”, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said in a notification dated May 2. It added that this restriction is imposed in the interest of “national security and public policy”. Any exception to this prohibition will require approval of the Government of India, the order said. Inserting the provision under the heading “Prohibition on Import from Pakistan” in the FTP, it said: “Direct or indirect import or transit of all goods originating in or exported from Pakistan, whether or not freely importable or otherwise permitted, shall be prohibited with immediate effect, until further orders”. India’s next move, hours later, was to ban the docking of ships bearing the flag of Pakistan at ports in the country. It also said that no Indian-flagged vessel would visit any ports in Pakistan. Stating that the objective of the Merchant Shipping Act of 1958 is to “foster the development and ensure the efficient maintenance of an Indian mercantile marine, in a manner best suited to serve the national interests”, the government said the order was being issued to “ensure the safety of Indian assets, cargo and connected infrastructure, in public interest and for interest of Indian shipping”.

Any exemption, it said, would be decided on a case-by-case basis. The day’s third measure by India was to ban all physical mail and parcels from Pakistan. “The Government of India has decided to suspend exchange of all categories of inbound mail and parcels from Pakistan through air and surface routes,” the Centre said in an order. The restrictions were put into place with immediate effect, officials said. “(The) government of India has decided to suspend exchange of all categories of inbound mail and parcels from Pakistan through air and surface routes,” an order issued by the Department of Posts that operates under the Ministry of Communication said. In a separate notification, the DGS, in exercise of power under section 411 of the Merchant Shipping Act, banned Pakistani ships from entering Indian ports. “A ship bearing the flag of Pakistan shall not be allowed to visit any Indian port. An Indian flag ship shall not visit any ports of Pakistan,” it said in the order. In retaliation, Pakistan also announced suspension of all trade with India, including to and from any third country through Pakistan. Bilateral trade between the two countries nosedived after the Pulwama terror attack.The bilateral trade dipped to $647.2 million in 2023-24 from $2.41 billion in 2017-18 and $2.27 billion in 2016-17.While India’s measures were being rolled out, Pakistan claimed it had successfully tested a surface-to-surface ballistic missile with a range of 450 km. The Abdali missile, the country said, was part of “Exercise INDUS”, a name that could be significant in the current circumstances. In a high-level meeting earlier this week, which was also attended by the chiefs of the armed forces, Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave the forces “complete operational freedom” to decide on the “mode, targets, and timing” of India’s military response to the Pahalgam attack.