The Big Picture: Pamir Outpost

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Security is always important on international borders, but it becomes even more so if the area is being opened up to tourists.

The Khunjerab Pass separating China and Pakistan is a strategic point on the Karakoram Highway, which links northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region with Gilgit-Baltistan in Pakistan. This China-Pakistan highway, a major piece of infrastructure that acts as an economic lifeline in official attempts to develop the area, runs through the Khunjerab Pass in Tashkurgan Tajik Autonomous county.

The Khunjerab Pass in the Pamir Mountains is on the China-Pakistan border. It’s the highest paved international border crossing in the world. /CGTN photo

CGTN was given exclusive access to the border defense force there, as the beautiful but remote outpost hopes to attract visitors. The tourism drive is part of an economic reinvigoration of the Khunjerab Pass, which serves a key hub along the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

On the pass, the Khunjerab border inspection station secures the borderline between China and Pakistan and supervises general affairs locally. The site on the freezing Pamir Plateau, where temperatures can sink as low as minus 40 degree Celsius, is located at an altitude of above 4,700 meters.

Jiao Dongtao and other soldiers patrol the borderline in the Pamirs. /CGTN photo

Jiao Dongtao, a senior member of the patrol force, says it has strengthened work to protect the roads and prevent extremists crossing the border. He expressed hope that people can see lasting peace and stability in this restive region.