GILGIT – All-weather friends Pakistan, and China are set to open a key border crossing Khunjerab Pass for trade activities from Monday (April 3) after hiatus of three years.
Trade and tourism-related activities remained suspended for two sides and will resume from next week as Islamabad and Beijing have completed all arrangements to reopen the iconic border point for bilateral trade and other activities under the flagship CPEC project.
The 4,693-meter-high mountain pass was earlier closed to stem Covid transmission between the two nations and only emergency aid was shipped after safety measures during the pandemic.
The years-long closure of the key crossing caused a huge financial blow to the local community as a large number of workers become jobless. As the world is moving after the Covid pandemic; Pakistani and Chinese officials decided to boost cross-border trade and business.
The picturesque border crossing is the only land port linking neighboring countries. Both sides started trade and tourism through the border from April 1 to November every year. First, ever trade activity under CPEC started via the Karakoram Highway back in late 2016.