GILGIT: Cargo worth billions of rupees has been lying on both sides of the Khunjerab pass, the Pak-China border in Gilgit-Baltistan, because of shortage of transportation facility, causing heavy losses to the traders associated with the export-import business.

Keeping in view the gravity of the situation, the Pakistani Embassy in Beijing on Saturday requested the Chinese ministry of transport to keep the border open till Dec 15 and ensure availability of container trucks so that stranded cargo could be delivered in both the countries without any hindrance.

GB traders expressed fear that if the stranded cargo was not delivered from Kashgar city in the Xinjiang province to Pakistan and vice versa before Nov 31, they would face losses of billions of rupees.

Under the protocol agreement signed by Pakistani and Chinese authorities, the border is usually closed on Nov 30 and reopened on April 1 every year. The transportation activity, including a bus service, from the Sust valley of Gilgit to Kashgar city of Xinjiang continues from first of April to first of December every year. Only Chinese containers are permitted to carry import and export goods from both the countries.

Talking to mediapersons, GB import export association’s leaders Mohammad Ali Quaid, Zulfiqar Ali, Imtiaz Hussain and others said for shortage of Chinese containers, import goods purchased by Pakistani traders in China had stranded in Kashgar and other cities of Xinjiang province, while export goods, mostly dry fruits, worth billions of rupees, were stranded at Sust dry port. Currently, GB traders are not getting Chinese container trucks to deliver their goods to Pakistan and China through KKH.

Published in Dawn, November 21st, 2017