Pakistan reopens key trade route with Afghanistan
Staff Writer | May 3, 2018
Ending a four-year closure, Pakistan has formally reopened the Ghulam Khan pass, its third major trade route with Afghanistan, officials said on Thursday.
Asia After a four-year closure
“The route was opened in April on a trial basis, however from Wednesday it is formally opened for trade,” a political administration officer told Anadolu Agency on the phone on condition of anonymity, as he was not authorized to speak with the media.
The militants’ hideouts have been destroyed and now the area is completely secured, he added.
Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi along with Army chief Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa traveled on Monday to North Waziristan agency and ordered the formal resumption of trade activities on the route.
The move came after the last month’s meeting between Abbasi and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani in Kabul to discuss various issues including bilateral trade falling almost in half from $2.7 billion to $1.4 billion over the last two years. ■
