GILGIT: The Pakistan-China border at Khunjerab Pass will be temporarily opened to transport stranded goods as well as machinery needed for execution of development work on Diamer-Bhasha dam.

The Khunjerab Pass remains closed for four months, from December to April every year, under a border protocol agreement signed between the two countries.

The route — closed in November 2019 after the outbreak of Covid-19 in China — was opened two-and-a-half years later in June 2022 under a new agreement and SOPs only to transport goods from China to Pakistan.

According to Home Secretary Iqbal Hussain Khan, the Chinese side has agreed to Pakistan’s request for the temporary opening of the Khunjerab Pass and facilitation of customs clearance for supplies.

The Khunjerab Pass will be opened during two periods — from Jan 17 to 18, and from Jan 30 to Feb 10, 2023 — for transportation of hydraulic grabber machine and its accessories, urgently needed by the Pakistani side for execution of work on the Diamer-Bhasha dam project and for goods stranded in China.

The home secretary said the GB government is grateful to Pakistan’s foreign ministry and its Chinese counterpart for helping “us in much-needed transportation of stuck up cargo of Diamer-Bhasha dam project and merchandise goods of GB traders”.

Published in Dawn, January 17th, 2023