GILGIT
Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s efforts have paid off as border trade has resumed on the Khunjerab Pass between Pakistan and China throughout the year.
Thanks to the successful diplomacy by the country’s young foreign minister, China has also removed the restrictions imposed on various products, Pakistan imports from it.
Supporting the effort of FM Bilawal, the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly has passed a resolution regarding the resumption of trade on the Khunjerab border.
PPP President, Gilgit-Baltistan chapter, Amjad Hussain Advocate, expressed his gratitude to Bilawal for fulfilling the demand of the GB people. Resumption of trade from Khunjerab border and its continuation throughout the year will have positive effects on the overall economy of the country, he said.
Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari congratulated the people of Gilgit-Baltistan on the commencement of trade process at the Khunjerab border for the whole year and on the lifting of other import restrictions.
Trade and travel activities between Pakistan and China through the Khunjerab Pass resumed on April 3, after remaining closed for three years.
Both countries agreed to reopen the border point for bilateral trade and other activities under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
Under an agreement, trade and travel activities between the two countries through the Khunjerab Pass commenced on April 1, 2016, and the pass had been closed on November 30, 2019, due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
While in operation, there was a daily bus service from the Sost Valley of Gilgit-Baltistan to Xinjiang province of China, facilitating the movement of travelers and commercial goods along the dry border.
The pass connects Pakistan’s Gilgit Baltistan region with China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and has resumed the trade and travel activities from April 1, 2023.
The prolonged closure of the pass had caused serious financial hardships to the local business community, while thousands of workers lost their jobs respectively. During the last three years, the Khunjerab Pass had been opened occasionally for emergency cargo transportation from China to Pakistan on specific days.
The border usually remains open from April 1 to November 30 every year and remains closed from December 1 to March 31 due to harsh winter weather conditions and lack of oxygen at high altitudes. But now the Chinese government has agreed to Pakistan’s demand to keep it open round the year.
