The major trade route between Pakistan and China ‘Khunjerab Pass’ is being re-opened on Monday for all kinds of traffic after almost three years, the Home Secretary Gilgit-Baltistan Rana Muhammad Saleem Afzal said.
The Khunjerab Pass was closed in the wake of COVID-19 Pandemic in 2020.
Its closure for three years caused financial issues for local business community and a large number of workers were left jobless.
As per the protocol signed between Pakistan and China, trade between the two Countries through the Khunjerab pass begins on April 1 and the pass is closed on November 30 every year.
Meanwhile, in a statement, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif said that reopening of Khunjrab Pass is critical to accelerating trade between Pakistan & China.
The prime minister said that the government is determined to unpack the full potential of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) by making it the centerpiece of our economic diplomacy for the region.
“Trade and connectivity are the building blocks of prosperity,” he wrote on Twitter.
Earlier, the border was temporarily opened twice in 2023 in January and February to meet Pakistan’s urgently needed supplies.
