GILGIT: Pakistan and China on Monday opened the Khunjerab Pass route for trade and travel activities after a prolonged closure due to the coronavirus outbreak.
As per details, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Pak-China Division in a letter to the Gilgit Baltistan 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.
On December 1, 2019, the border was closed 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.
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.
With the consensus of the federal government, the GB administration had decided to open the Pak-China border at Sost until September 30 to allow the trucks into Pakistan, after the Chinese embassy and traders had requested the Pakistani government.
According to official sources in the Gilgit Baltistan government, the border was opened to facilitate the transporters. Implementation of Standard Operating Procedures (SoPs) for the clearance of containers for bilateral trade between the two countries is strictly being followed, the official added.
The residents of Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) earlier had expressed deep concerns over the short-term opening of the Pakistan-China border at Sost without solid measures for the screening of people coming from China.
