KHAPLU: Trade and travel activities between Pakistan and China through the Khunjerab Pass in Pakistan’s north will resume on Monday, an official told Arab News on Saturday, almost four years after it was suspended.
At 5,000 meters above the sea level, the Khunjerab Pass is the highest paved international crossing in the world, a major trade route between China and Pakistan, and an important gateway to South Asia and Europe for the Chinese imports and exports.
Under an agreement, trade activities between the two countries through the Khunjerab Pass continued from April till November. The first trade activity between China and Pakistan under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) began via the Karakoram Highway, which passes through Khunjerab, in November 2016.
The key border point was closed in 2019 to contain the spread of coronavirus between the two countries, but the authorities have now decided to reopen it.
“After around four years of closure, the Pakistan-China border will be reopened from April 3 and Pakistani traders will freely cross the border subject to border passes,” Rana Mohammad Saleem Afzal, the GB home secretary, told Arab News on Saturday.
“China’s transit trade will pass from here and the [Pakistani] government will also get the proceeds from this. The opening of the border is a welcoming gesture from Chinese authorities.”
CPEC is a $65 billion project, part of China’s Belt and Road infrastructure initiative, aimed at establishing a network of roads, railways, pipelines, and ports in Pakistan.
It aims to connect China to Pakistan’s ports and help Islamabad expand and modernize its economy and meet major energy needs as well as provide the shortest route for Chinese cargo headed for the Middle East, Africa, and Central Asia.
The prolonged closure of Khunjerab Pass caused immense financial losses to the local business community and triggered layoffs. The key border point was occasionally opened during the last four years for emergency cargo transportation from China to Pakistan.
The GB home secretary said all arrangements had been finalized to reopen the border point and his department was accepting applications from traders and travelers to cross the border.
“We entertain [the applicants] at counters and after verification, we issue them passes [to let them cross the border],” he told Arab News. “The opening of this border, it will be beneficial for bilateral trade. Secondly, it’s a CPEC route.”
Pakistan, a country of 220 million, has been embroiled in an economic crisis, with its currency at a historic low level, forex reserves barely enough to cover a month of imports and inflation at a 50-year high.
The resumption of trade with China is expected to bring some respite to the cash-strapped South Asian nation.
