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       ？ Protesters demand tax exemption for GB residents and clearance of 280 stuck consignments

       ？ Federal committee, including GB leadership, meets today to discuss resolution

       GILGIT: The ongoing sit-in on Karakoram Highway (KKH) has disrupted travel and trade between Pakistan and China via Khunjerab Pass for the 22nd consecutive day on Sunday as deadlock between government and protesters persisted.

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       The federal committee constituted by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will meet on Monday (today) to make recommendations for resolving the issue. GB Chief Minister Haji Gulbar Khan, GB Chief Secretary Abrar Ahmed Mirza, PPP President Amjad Hussain Advocate, former GB chief minister and PML-N President Hafeezur Rehman have also been included in the committee.

       Trade and travel between Pakistan and China, as well as business activities at the Sost Dry Port, have remained shut for the past 22 days.

       The protest sit-in, called by the Tajir Ittehad Action Committee — backed by trade organisations, government and opposition parties, and religious groups in the region — is being staged at Sost, blocking trade activities between Pakistan and China in support of their demands.

       Members of a committee formed by Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) Chief Minister Haji Gulbar Khan to resolve the matter had met the protest organisers on Friday. They discussed the issues and prepared recommendations to present to the Prime Minister’s committee.

       The protesters have given a two-point agenda to the committee. They demanded exemption of GB residents from income tax, sales tax, and other federal taxes on items imported from China through the Khunjerab Pass. They also demanded Customs clearance of 280 consignments stuck at Sost Dry Port for over a year under a one-time amnesty scheme.

       The protesters announced that they would not call off their protest until their demands are implemented.

       Addressing the protest, Rehan Shah, PML-N Hunza president, said that the people of GB have long been demanding their constitutional and legal rights. He added that political, religious, and trade organisations — along with both government and opposition members in GB — support these demands.

       He stated that GB has been deprived of constitutional and legal rights for the past seven decades.

       Zahoor Karim, PPP local president, said the federal government should only collect taxes after giving GB representation in Pakistan’s National Assembly and 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. Trade between Pakistan and China has been closed for a year, and goods worth billions of rupees are stuck at Sost Port — some damaged by rain and others expired,” he said.

       Protesters said that the majority of GB residents depend on cross-border trade between Pakistan and China through the Khunjerab Pass.

       Published in Dawn, August 11th, 2025