Khunjerab Pass opens for trade activities

After keeping the border remaining closed for over a year, Pakistan and China opened the Khunjerab Pass route for trade and travel activities on Monday.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Pak-China Division in a letter to the Gilgit Baltistan (GB) chief secretary stated that the border point has been opened from both sides.

The Chinese embassy in Islamabad had informed the ministry about the opening of the border crossing and asked it to open its side of the border point for resumption of trade and travel between the two countries.

The border was closed on December 1, 2019 as per schedule due to the winter season, while the scheduled opening on April 1, 2020 was postponed due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.

China-Pakistan border remains closed from December 1 till March 31 every year due to severe weather conditions, as per the bilateral agreement. For the rest of the year, however, the border remains open for two-way movement of passengers as well as transportation of goods and cargo.

The border was opened for a few weeks in July last year to facilitate the release of stranded containers, and again in September, to shift medical material gifted by the Chinese government to GB to deal with Covid-19.