Khunjerab Pass to remain open round the year

The Pakistan-China border post on Khun­jerab Pass opened for year-round trade and travel for the first time on Monday, with 40 Chinese containers loaded with goods and a bus carrying four passengers arriving at Sost (Pakistan) from Xinjiang on Monday. A bus carrying five passengers left Sost for the Chinese region on the same day. The locals welcomed the arrival of a bus and goods from China, expressing hopes that the year-round opening of the border would improve the region’s economy and encourage people-to-people contacts. But traders said they were not confident that arrangements and facilities were adequate on the Pakistan side for trade operations during winter. Khunjerab Pass connects Gilgit-Baltistan with China’s Xinjiang region and, at 15,500 feet above sea level, is the highest paved international border.