Tax Dispute Halts Pak-China Trade: Protests Spark Detentions, Highway Blockade in Hunza & Nagar
By Monitoring Desk
Trade activities between Pakistan and China came to a grinding halt on Monday as traders in Gilgit-Baltistan shut down the Silk Route Dry Port in Sost and blocked key points of the Karakoram Highway in protest against Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) tax policies. The demonstration, led by the Pak-China Trades Action Committee, also resulted in the detention of several traders, escalating tensions in the region.
According to Dawn, the protest was triggered by demands for the reversal of income and sales taxes collected at the Sost Dry Port. The traders’ body declared a complete closure of the port and staged sit-ins across Hunza and Nagar districts, severely disrupting traffic and leaving hundreds of local and international tourists stranded.
Hunza Deputy Commissioner (DC) Huzaifa Anwar confirmed that sit-ins had been held at Murtazaabad and Sost, near the Pakistan-China border. “The Murtazaabad protest has ended, but the Sost sit-in is ongoing. We are negotiating with the demonstrators and hope to resolve the issue soon,” he told Dawn.com.
DC Anwar added that three traders were placed under “protective custody” at the Sost Dry Port following the protest announcement. One of them has since been released, and no formal arrests or FIRs have been registered so far. “Our immediate priority is to reopen the Karakoram Highway and assist the stranded tourists,” he said.
Meanwhile, local traders accused authorities of launching a late-night crackdown prior to the Monday demonstration. They claim police raided the homes of key protest leaders — including Ali Nazar, Abbas Mir, and Farman Tajik — and took them into custody.
As a result, tents have been set up by protesters along the highway in Nagar’s Rakaposhi area and in Murtazaabad, Hunza. These encampments have contributed to major roadblocks, stranding travelers and affecting cross-border trade flow through the Khunjerab Pass.
Addressing protesters in Nagar, former Gilgit-Baltistan Chamber of Commerce president Javed Hussain condemned the crackdown and squarely blamed the district administration for provoking a peaceful protest. “If the administration has the power to detain our traders, let them keep them. Otherwise, we’ll break them out ourselves,” he warned, adding that he would not hesitate to leave his party, PML-N, over the issue. “I won’t compromise on the rights of the people of Gilgit-Baltistan.”
Protesters also raised slogans against the Hunza deputy commissioner and the district police chief, accusing them of mishandling the situation.
Former Chamber president Imran Ali echoed the sentiment, stating that the sit-in was sparked by the FBR’s renewed efforts to collect taxes at the dry port. “There was a prior agreement not to enforce these taxes, but it has been violated. That’s why we have shut down the port and blocked the highway,” he said.
In a separate statement, Nagar DC Asghar Khan offered a different perspective, attributing some road closures to a Muharram procession. He insisted that no traders had been detained in Nagar and claimed that the Karakoram Highway had not been blocked there.
This week’s protest is the latest in a series of actions by local traders. In June, they staged similar demonstrations with support from political parties, decrying what they called exploitative tax policies imposed by the FBR. Earlier in May, an indefinite sit-in at Pissan, Nagar also paralyzed traffic, stranding thousands of travelers on both sides of the Khunjerab Pass.
As the standoff continues, pressure is mounting on authorities to resolve the crisis and restore normal trade and travel operations along the critical Pak-China corridor.