ISLAMABAD, May 10: The Northern Areas Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NACCI) has asked the government to immediately reopen the Khunjerab border pass for trade and tourism.

The Karakuram Highway is closed due to snowfall on the 16,000 feet Khunjerab Pass in November and opened for trade and tourism on May 1. But, the Pakistan government this year delayed the opening of the border for a month due to the outbreak of SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) in China. The border is likely to be opened in June.

The NACCI president, Shahbaz Khan advocate, in a written appeal to Interior Minister Faisal Saleh Hayat and Northern Areas Chief Executive Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao on Friday, urged the government to immediately reopen the border.

In the appeal, a copy of which was faxed to Dawn office, Mr Shahbaz said, SARS was stated to be found in Beijing and southern Guangdong province of China, about 7,000km from northeastern Xinjiang province, which was adjacent to Northern Areas of Pakistan.

The Northern Areas’s traders carry out 90 per cent trade activities in Kashgar and 10 per cent in Urumqi, Xinjiang province, where no SARS-related case has so far been reported, he said.

The closing of border with China will not only adversely affect the trade activities and the overall economic situation of Northern Areas, but also be against the national interest.

Mr Shahbaz maintained that the people of Northern Areas, in general, and the business community, in particular, did not support the action taken by the interior ministry unilaterally to extend closure of the Pakistan-China border.

“It is feared that further closure of the border will adversely affect the already alarming economic and political situation of this sensitive region and relations between the two countries,” he said.

The flights between Pakistan and China are being operated continuously from the most affected areas of Beijing and Hong Kong and no evidence of SARS has been reported till date in Pakistan.

The NACCI chief said to check the trans-border movement, the federal and local health authorities, in collaboration with immigration department, should establish an emergency cell to do screening of the in coming passengers.

He said closure of the border, coupled with the dwindling tourism, had badly affected the economic and trade activities in Northern Areas.

He expressed fears that the situation might increase the unemployment rate which could aggravate the already increasing sense of deprivation among the local people, creating law and order situation in this sensitive region.

The Chinese government has already taken effective measures and put in place a monitoring system to check trans-border movement. As a result, the flights between the two countries are operating continuously.

Mr Shahbaz called for immediately reopening the Khunjrab border pass, besides providing proper medical care screening and quarantine facilities at Sost customs checkpost on emergency footings.