• Protesters demand the exemption of taxes for GB residents and the authorization of 280 shipments stuck
• The Federal Committee, including GB’s leadership, meets today to discuss the resolution
Gilgit: The ongoing sitting in Karakoram Highway (KKH) has interrupted trips and trade between Pakistan and China through the Khunjerrab pass during the 22nd consecutive day on Sunday while the government and protesters persisted.
The Federal Committee constituted by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will meet on Monday (today) to make recommendations to solve the problem. GB Prime Minister Haji Gulbar Khan, the main secretary of GB, Abrar Ahmed Mirza, the president of the PPP, Amjad Hussain, defender, former lead minister of GB and president of PML-N, Hafeezur Rehman, has also been included in the committee.
Commerce and travel between Pakistan and China, as well as commercial activities in Puerto Seco Sust, have remained closed during the last 22 days.
The sitting of protest, called by the Tajir Ittehad action committee, backed by commercial organizations, government and opposition parties, and religious groups in the region, is being organized in Sust, blocking commercial activities between Pakistan and China in support of their demands.
Members of a Committee formed by Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) Prime Minister Haji Gulbar Khan to resolve the matter had met with the organizers of the protest on Friday. They discussed the problems and prepared recommendations to present to the Prime Minister’s committee.
The protesters have given a two -point agenda to the committee. They demanded the exemption of GB residents of Income Tax, Sales Tax and other federal taxes on the items imported from China through the Khunjerrab pass. They also demanded the customs authorization of 280 consignments trapped in Sust Dry Port for more than a year under a unique amnesty scheme.
The protesters announced that they would not cancel their protest until their demands are implemented.
Going to the protest, Rean Shah, president of PML-N Hunza, said that GB people have been demanding its constitutional and legal rights for a long time. He added that political, religious and commercial organizations, together with the members of the Government and the opposition in GB, support these demands.
He said GB has been deprived of constitutional and legal rights during the last seven decades.
Zahoor Karim, local president of PPP, said the federal government should only raise taxes after giving GB representation in the National Assembly and the Pakistan Senate. He stressed that the “economic murder” of GB residents would not be tolerated.
“The FBR has introduced policies to deprive GB people of their economic resources. Commerce between Pakistan and China has been closed for a year, and the assets worthy of billions of rupees are trapped in the port of Sust, some damaged by rain and others expired,” he said.
The protesters said that most GB residents depend on cross -border trade between Pakistan and China through the Khunjerrab pass.
Posted in Dawn, August 11, 2025
