China-Pakistan key trade route closed for 4 months despite 'agreement'

By Aamir Latif

KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) – A key trade crossing between China and Pakistan will remain closed for the next four months despite an agreement to keep the high-altitude route open throughout the year.

Beijing announced the closure of the Khunjerab Pass, which connects Pakistan's northern Gilgit-Baltistan with China's northwestern Xinjiang region, for four months in winter, local English daily Dawn reported on Sunday.

It comes just a month after an understanding between the two allies during a meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Pakistan's caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar on the sidelines of the Third Belt and Road International Cooperation Summit Forum in Beijing.

A joint statement on Oct. 20 had said that the Khunjerab Pass – the highest paved international border at 15,500 feet from sea level – would remain operational year-round.

A notice issued on Saturday by the Khunjerab Port management of China’s Xinjiang region said that the crossing will remain closed from December to March in line with a decades-long border protocol agreement between the two countries.

Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mumtaz Zahra did not respond to a request for comment.

“(Until) the State Port Management Office of the People’s Republic of China issues an official notice, Khunjerab Port will continue to adopt the seasonal mode of customs clearance, with normal closure from December to March,” the notice read.

Under a 1985 border protocol agreement, the pass remains open for travel and trade between April and November.

Trade and travel activities are badly hampered in winter due to heavy snowfall.

The road has already been blanketed with up to six inches of snow following the season’s first snowfall on Friday.