The country is observing the first anniversary of Operation Sindoor, which coincides with the anniversary of the complete closure of operations at the Integrated Check Post (ICP) at the Attari-Wagah Joint Check Post.
The last consignment arrived on June 5 last year from Afghanistan at the ICP, which recorded approximately Rs 4,000 crore in imports during the previous fiscal.
Although the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) recommended the closure of the Attari-Wagah border two days after the Pahalgam terror attack on tourists on April 22, consignments of imports continued to arrive intermittently until June 5. This was apparently due to import agreements signed before the attack, which abruptly brought a halt to all forms of exchange between India and Pakistan.
The closure ended the ICP’s only source of revenue — the duty charged on goods imported from Taliban-ruled Afghanistan — which is shared by Customs and the Land Ports Authority of India (LPAI).
This was the only land trade route between India and Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. Before the Pahalgam attack, the ICP was permitted to receive only imports from Afghanistan, for which Pakistan provided transit facilities. Prior to the trade embargo between India and Pakistan in August 2019, about one-fourth (Rs 4,476 crore) of their total trade of Rs 17,903 crore took place through the ICP at Attari.
Pradeep Sahgal, senior vice-president of the Indian Importers Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that although trade between India and Pakistan ceased in 2019, India never formally closed the Attari-Wagah port at the time. However, India did formally shut the Attari-Wagah dry port for Pakistani nationals as well as trade before launching Operation Sindoor in 2025. He added that while India did not close the route for Afghan imports, Pakistan eventually shut the Attari-Wagah crossing for all purposes, including Afghan transit trade.
Trade at Attari-Wagah suffered a major setback in 2019 when bilateral trade between India and Pakistan came to a halt. However, trade with Afghanistan provided a limited lifeline for the trading community. The final blow came in 2025, when all trading activities ceased entirely. While the doors had effectively closed in 2019, the remaining window was shut in 2025.
The trading community had urged the LPAI to utilise the Attari land port as a container freight station (CFS) or dry port, linking it with Nhava Sheva and Mundra ports to revive trade in the border region.
Suraj Bhan, manager at LPAI, Attari, said such decisions are taken at the headquarters level. Despite zero income from the ICP, authorities have maintained strict security. Last August, over 200 high-definition CCTV cameras equipped with siren systems were installed at Attari.
The Integrated Check Post (ICP) recorded imports of over Rs 3,700 crore in the financial year that ended on March 31, 2024. This marked an increase of at least Rs 1,488 crore compared to the 2022-23 fiscal, when it had imported Afghan goods worth Rs 2,212 crore. The ICP commenced operations with imports worth Rs 1,748 crore during the 2012-13 fiscal year.
The previous highest import figure was recorded in 2018-19, when it facilitated imports of over Rs 3,600 crore. In the preceding year (2017-18), it recorded imports exceeding Rs 3,400 crore. The ICP registered imports of Rs 2,544 crore in 2019-20, Rs 2,639 crore in 2020-21, and Rs 2,977 crore in 2021-22.
India primarily imported medicinal plants, herbs and both dry and fresh fruits from Afghanistan through the ICP.
