Quetta: While Iran and Israel shot missiles last month, the people of Mashkhel, a border city in Baluchistan, was struggling to ensure essential items.
For years, residents of this city have trusted the neighboring country for daily use items, mainly because it is too far from the regular routes of the supply chain.
Located about 700 km from Quetta with only a rudimentary road link, the city with a population of around 67,000 has historically depended on trade with Iran to meet even its most basic needs.
Previously, the locals would buy edible items from Jalk, the closest Iranian city, located about 20 km from Mashkhel.
But the zero-point door with Iran has closed from the Covid-19 pandemic.
The locals forced to buy Iranian Quetta products in triple the price
“We were forced to obtain edible articles from Dalbandin (in the neighboring district of Chaghi) or Quetta,” says Kabir Ahmad Reki, a place.
In the absence of formal trade, people in the area are forced to use ‘unofficial’ routes to obtain essential elements of the Iranian side. Those who cannot do so have to trust the supply of local markets, such as Dalbandin and Quetta.
Due to the immense distance between them, the goods brought from these remote markets often have a price outside the reach of the premises, due to additional transport costs.
The irony here is that the products that are buying in larger urban centers are also Iranian manufacturing products that are brought through traffic trade.
Although local alternatives are available in Quetta markets, people prefer to buy Iranian products due to their higher quality.
According to Mr. Reki, if Iranian edible items such as fish, kitchen oil or ghee are transported from Quetta to Mashkhel through local transporters, cost their original price three times.
“For example,” he explains, “the price of fish is RS180 in Jalk. But in Mashkhel, we get the Iranian fish of Quetta, and that also for around RS400.”
Mohammad Ayub Mariani, president of the Quetta Chamber of Commerce and Industry, also said that the trade returned to the levels of before the war.
“But obstacles to trade with Iran are on our side,” he said.
“The government must give subsidies to people living in border cities, to provide edible articles, oil, diesel, edible that are karachi supplies,” he said.
Washuk Abdul Majeed Sarparah’s attached commissioner said Sunrise that Pakistan wanted to open border points for trade, but Iran had not accepted the proposal.
Sarparah, who assumed the position of the district last month, said he had visited Mashkhel and celebrated an open court to listen to people’s problems.
“Among other things, the premises mentioned the issue of trade, and I have informed the higher authorities.”
However, he said that the situation was beginning to normalize from Alto El Fuego between Iran and Israel.
Posted in Dawn, July 1, 2025
