India seizes 39 containers with Pakistani-origin goods routed via UAE

“DRI launched an operation codenamed Operation Deep Manifest, targeting the illegal import of Pakistani-origin goods routed through third countries, primarily via Dubai, UAE. The operation has so far led to the seizure of 39 containers carrying 1,115 metric tonnes of goods valued at approximately Rs 9 crore. One of the partners of an importing firm was arrested on June 26,” the Ministry of Finance said in a statement.

The Indian Express had reported on May 16 that the DRI had begun seizing in-transit goods originating from Pakistan after Customs authorities increased scrutiny in the wake of the Pahalgam terrorist attack. The Ministry of Commerce had last year raised the issue of Pakistani dates and dry fruits entering India through the UAE after the two countries signed a free trade agreement in 2022.

Despite these stringent measures, some importers have attempted to bypass the policy by “misdeclaring the origin of goods” and manipulating related shipping documents, the statement said.

“In two separate cases, these consignments were seized at Nhava Sheva Port. The consignments were falsely declared as being of UAE origin, masking their Pakistani provenance. However, investigations revealed that these goods actually originated from Pakistan and were merely transshipped via Dubai for import into India,” the Ministry said.

The government stated that investigations conducted so far had uncovered cargo movement trails from Karachi Port, Pakistan, and transshipments at Jebel Ali Port, Dubai – en route to Indian ports. Furthermore, money transfers and financial linkages with Pakistani entities were traced, raising serious concerns about illicit financial flows.

“The entire modus operandi was orchestrated through a complex web of transactions involving Pakistani and UAE nationals, aimed at obscuring the true origin of the goods – namely Pakistan.”

According to estimates by the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), around $10 billion worth of Indian goods reach Pakistan via trans-shipment hub routes.

Tensions between the two countries – particularly after the 2019 Pulwama attack – reduced bilateral trade from Rs 4,370.78 crore in 2018–19 to Rs 2,257.55 crore in 2022–23. However, trade rebounded to Rs 3,886.53 crore in 2023–24, the highest in the past five years. Notably, total cargo movement also declined from 49,102 consignments in 2018–19 to just 3,827 in 2022–23, the data shows.

In dollar terms, annual India–Pakistan trade has shrunk to around $2 billion over the past five years – a small fraction of the $37 billion trade potential estimated by the World Bank. India’s overall goods trade stands at $430 billion, while Pakistan’s is approximately $100 billion.

The curbing of trade marks a significant shift from the late 1990s, when India took the initiative to boost bilateral trade by extending Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to Pakistan in 1996, leading to a surge in trading volumes. However, Pakistan never reciprocated by granting the same status to India. In 2019, India revoked Pakistan’s MFN status following the Pulwama terrorist attack.