Gilgit-Baltistan traders have lost patience over the continuous closure of the Sost border. The business community has given a week’s deadline to open the border and has warned of sit-ins in Islamabad and Gilgit-Baltistan.
Exporters Association Chairman Javed Hussain along with other traders in a press conference appealed to Prime Minister Imran Khan, Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Foreign Minister, Commerce Minister and Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan to open the Pak-China border for trade.
He said that due to covid, it has been closed for the last 20 months so that the traders of Gilgit-Baltistan can earn their livelihood. He said that due to the closure of the border, the traders of Gilgit-Baltistan have lost millions of rupees. All traders of Gilgit-Baltistan will be forced to hold peaceful sit-ins outside Khunjerab Top, Parliament House and Ministry of Foreign AffairsIslamabad, if their demands are not met.
Javed Hussain said that the only source of livelihood for all small and big traders of Gilgit-Baltistan is through Pak-China border. There is trade but because of Covid, the China-Pakistan border has been completely closed for the past 20 months, which has bankrupted GB traders.
China has its borders with Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan and normal trade continues but the Pak-China border is still closed. The Pak-China border is the only source of livelihood for the traders of Gilgit-Baltistan.
Javed Hussain said that the Pakistan Foreign Ministry has issued a notification to reopen the Pak-China border. However, the Chinese authorities have refused to implement the notification due to which the goods imported from China by Pakistani traders are getting damaged in the warehouses of Kashgar, which is feared to cause loss of millions.
Besides, the goods of Diamerbhasha Dam, Dasu and Mohmand Dams lying in the warehouses of Kashgar are also deteriorating. He appealed to Prime Minister Imran Khan, Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Foreign Minister, Commerce Minister and Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan to immediately open the Pak-China border for trade as It is a symbol of unparalleled friendship between the two nations.