Khunjerab Pass will remain open for Pak-China trade throughout the year

Khunjerab Pass will remain open for Pak-China trade throughout the year!

Khunjrab Pass is the only land crossing between China and Pakistan. It is the highest pass (4,693 meters) in the world, located at Karakoram Highway (KKH).

The border in previous practice 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.

However, the Chinese government has agreed to the Pakistan government’s demand to keep it open throughout the year.

The pass connects Pakistan’s Gilgit Baltistan region with China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and has resumed trade and travel activities from April 1, 2023.

The resumption of trade from the Khunjerab border and its continuation throughout the year will have positive effects on the overall economy of the country.

The pass had been closed on November 30, 2019, amid the COVID-19 outbreak.

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 will continue that started to commence on April 1, 2016.

“Reopening of Khunjrab Pass is critical to accelerating trade between Pakistan & China. The government is determined to unpack the full potential of CPEC by making it the centrepiece of our economic diplomacy for the region,” Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif stated earlier this month.