Islamabad, Oct 07,2026 : The proposed resumption of direct flights between Pakistan and Turkmenistan is set to add a new channel for trade and business connectivity with Central Asia, complementing road and rail corridors whose reliability has increasingly become a concern for regional traders.
Pakistan and Turkmenistan are considering the resumption of cargo and commercial flights between Islamabad and Ashgabat. The proposed connection comes against the backdrop of limited trade between Pakistan and Turkmenistan despite their geographical proximity.
According to official trade data, Pakistan exported about $1.18 million worth of goods to Turkmenistan and imported $5.87 million in FY2025-26, taking bilateral trade to around $7.05 million.
Sabz Ali Khan, Director at the Directorate General of Trade Organization (DGTO), told Wealth Pakistan that improved air connectivity could provide another route for moving people, goods and business services while creating stronger commercial links with the wider Central Asian region.
He said the small existing trade base also showed substantial room for Pakistani exporters to identify products in demand in Turkmenistan rather than relying on the limited range of goods currently traded.
“Improved trade facilitation, better transport connectivity, market intelligence, business-to-business linkages and participation in trade exhibitions could help Pakistani exporters explore this relatively untapped Central Asian market,” he said.
The significance, however, extends beyond Turkmenistan. The case for alternative connectivity has gained importance as disruptions along Pakistan’s traditional overland route through Afghanistan have exposed the vulnerability of trade access to Central Asian markets.
According to the Asian Development Bank’s Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) corridor monitoring data, average road border-crossing times across the CAREC network more than doubled from 6.3 hours in 2010 to 14.1 hours in 2024.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) recently approved a $400 million regional facility aimed at modernising border crossings and reducing transport and logistics costs across participating CAREC economies.
Khan said these constraints made multimodal connectivity increasingly important for Pakistan.
He pointed to Pakistan’s existing trade arrangements with Uzbekistan and said bilateral links with individual Central Asian states should be viewed within a broader network of regional transit rather than as isolated trading relationships.
Pakistan and Uzbekistan already have a Preferential Trade Agreement and an Agreement on Transit Trade, providing an institutional framework for expanding commercial and transport links.
Khan said Uzbekistan’s central geographical position could help connect Pakistani businesses with other Central Asian markets, but sustainable trade would require predictable transit rules, efficient customs clearance and alternative routes when individual corridors are disrupted.
The same argument was highlighted at the September CAREC meetings in Mongolia, where Pakistan called for CAREC Corridors 5 and 6 to evolve from basic transport routes into integrated economic corridors linking Central Asia with the Arabian Sea through logistics, rail, road and port infrastructure.
Rana Asif Khan, Founder President of the International Road Transport Chamber of Pakistan (IRTCoP), told Wealth Pakistan that greater use of multimodal cargo systems could reinforce regional connectivity by combining air, road and maritime transport.
He said a recently introduced multimodal cargo model had created an additional option for cross-border trade, particularly for shipments moving between different modes of transport under a more integrated documentation framework.
According to him, the model is currently centred on Karachi, while extending such arrangements to Islamabad, Lahore, Quetta and Gwadar could broaden Pakistan’s regional logistics network.
He said direct air and multimodal connections could be particularly useful for time-sensitive and higher-value cargo, while road, rail and maritime links would remain essential for larger trade volumes.
For Pakistan, direct Islamabad-Ashgabat flights would, therefore, be more significant as part of a wider regional connectivity network than as a standalone solution. Air links could improve business mobility and provide an alternative channel for selected cargo, while road, rail and transit arrangements would continue to carry the bulk of regional commerce.
