Pak-China border at Sust temporarily re-opens after 11 months

PM’s aide says it will close again after stranded trucks are cleared

ABBOTABAD:

Prime Minister’s Advisor on Commerce and Industries Abdul Razak Dawood on Saturday said the Pak-China border crossing at Sust was temporarily re-opened to clear stranded trucks of Pakistani traders.

While talking to The Express Tribune, the PM’s aide said only the trucks stranded in China are allowed to cross the border whereas human movement remains restricted.

“The border will close again soon after the arrival of trucks,” Dawood said. “Decision was taken to facilitate the traders whose containers were stuck due to the outbreak of Covid-19 in China.”

The Express Tribune contacted Gilgit-Baltistan Commissioner, Usman Ahmad, to inquire about safety measures. He said there are around 50 trucks, out of which five have arrived at Khunjerab Pass.

“The G-B government is strictly implementing the SOPs,” the commissioner said. “Health teams have been deployed at the border and all the trucks are being sanitised."

Ahmad added that due to newly reported coronavirus cases in the Chinese province of Xinjiang and Kashghar, the health officials are fully prepared to monitor the trucks.

The Sust border was closed on October 1 last year and has temporararily re-opened as a result of federal government’s diplomatic efforts with Chinese officials.