Khunjerab Pass generates record Rs15 billion in customs revenue

Pakistan Customs recorded a new high of Rs15 billion in revenue on Chinese-origin goods entering through the Khunjerab Pass in fiscal 2025-26, according to Dawn. In the same year, exports worth Rs2.8bn moved out through the crossing toward China and Central Asian markets.

Wajid Ali, Collector of Customs in Gilgit-Baltistan, told the paper that import revenue reached Rs14.93bn at the Sost Dry Port in FY26, up from Rs13.67bn a year earlier. He also said exports under the Transports Internationaux Routiers system rose, with shipments including surgical items, garments, rice, carpets and fresh produce.

Customs officials stated that inspections of Chinese imports had been stepped up and that a joint mechanism with the Facilitation Mechanism team had curbed smuggling through the pass. Last month, two smuggling attempts through the pass were foiled, with the seized items, including 317 smartphones and 3,500 bottles of Chinese wine, valued at about Rs158m. Local exporters, meanwhile, complained that extra restrictions at Chinese immigration slow their shipments, and they asked Pakistani authorities to press Chinese officials for relief.